Love With A Capital L
by Random523
Summary: Everyone knew that Megatron had the hots for Starscream, except for Megatron himself. But when the beautiful seeker falls for another mech of the opposite faction will Megatron's jealousy finally lead him to a startling conclusion about his emotions? Warnings: Slash. Mature. Graphic depiction of rape in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Love With A Capital "L"**

Everyone knew that Megatron had the hots for Starscream, except for Megatron himself. But when the beautiful seeker falls for another mech of the opposite faction will Megatron's jealousy finally lead him to a startling conclusion about his emotions? And will Starscream end up leaving the Decepticons for the caring embrace of an Autobot? It all rests with Megatron coming to terms with his feelings.

………………………………......................oOo………………………………...................

Starscream sat serenely on the edge of his berth, stretching and popping his joints after a night of recharge. He felt completely rested, and the dream had had left him in a rather pleasant mood when he had woken up. With a last stretch he yawned and fell back onto the supportive surface, allowing himself a few more moments of relaxation before he planned on starting his day. The seeker rarely ever had a good night's sleep, and he wondered why he had actually gotten one this time, after all, nothing had changed yesterday. He had woken up exhausted, began his shift, been glared at the entire time by Megatron—the stupid slagger—ended his shift, went for a quick flight with Skywarp and Thundercracker, and had come back even more exhausted. He then fell asleep at….he checked his chronometer to see exactly when, "Well that's strange…" He said to himself as he noticed he had fallen asleep at 6:30 p.m.

He never fell asleep so early, it went against his very schedule and plans to do something like that. The seeker groaned and stretched once more, halfway hanging off of the berth as he fought the urge to fall back asleep.

What bliss came with his dreams, he loved them, loved to fall asleep merely to dream and enjoy the feelings of being away from reality, away from the pain that came with everyday life. However, even his sleepy reveries were beginning to have no effect on the experiences he went through, his mind and imagination were being overshadowed by Megatron's abuse. Starscream couldn't quite explain it, but over the countless millennia he had grown used to the warlord's powerful hands on him, beating him, choking him, bruising him, and for some inane reason he loved it. He was addicted to his leader's power, his fury, his touch…even though he only brought pain.

Starscream's thoughts came to an abrupt end as the sound of his door sliding open alerted him that someone was coming in.

"Heya 'Screamer!" Skywarp's voice greeted him happily, followed by the normal sigh of Thundercracker as the two seekers entered their trine leader's personal quarters.

Starscream yawned and sat up slowly, looking over at his two friends with a sleepy smile. "Hey…" Was all he said before Skywarp plopped down beside him, snaking an arm around his midsection and pulling him close so that he could push their cheeks together. "Somebody slept in late today!" The purple seeker told his wingmate, "And that certain somebody also missed their shift."

Starscream stiffened noticeably, his entire form tensing and the energon freezing in his lines. "I am so slagged…" He cried as he buried his face in his hands, "I bet Megatron is seething right now…"

Skywarp hugged the youngest of the trine comfortingly, "Well yeah. But Megs will get over it, the big guy hasn't even said a word all morning." He tried to convince him with a smile, though he knew that it would do little to ease his friend's mind.

Thundercracker smiled as well, looking to Starscream as if he were a younger sibling, "Come on, I bet your morning rations will make you feel better." He offered as he extended his hand, watching the younger seeker look at him bleakly, "The slagger has probably revoked my rations….besides, it's the afternoon now…" he told his blue wingmate.

Skywarp and Thundercracker gave each other worried looks, Starscream didn't normally act like this, _ever_.

The younger of the three had been acting more and more different as the days went on, his fiery attitude and sharp quips retreating into his subconscious to be replaced by a sullenness that was very uncharacteristic. Thundercracker had always admired Starscream for his bravery at standing up to mechs many times his size, strength, and age, but now it seemed as if his days of irrationally attacking foes who were stronger than him were coming to an end. He had ceased his arguments with Megatron, blindly following every order he was given for the past month, it was so unlike him.

"I'll give you my afternoon ration then, just come on, I'm sure that Lord Megatron won't be too mad at you, after all, you've never slept in a day in your life." He tried convincing him once more. Skywarp nodded in agreement, "Yeah, come on!" He smiled excitedly, his high-strung personality causing him to become fidgety as he sat still for such a long time. Starscream sighed, thinking for a moment as he weighed the possibilities of not being rebuked for his missed shift. In the end, he willingly allowed Thundercracker to take his hand and pull him to his feet, leading him from the room and to the mess hall.

--

The three seekers entered the mess hall casually, walking over to their designated table and sitting down momentarily. Thundercracker left Starscream and Skywarp to talk as he retrieved three cubes, two high grades and one normal, he then walked back to the table and passed them out. He and Skywarp both drank their high grade eagerly, while Starscream merely sipped at his cube uninterestedly, his expression unreadable.

Though he occasionally would drink high grade, the air commander knew that he shouldn't, unknown to everyone else he was underage and wouldn't be allowed to drink high grade back on Cybertron. His trine were the only ones who knew Starscream's true age, and it never ceased to amaze them at how mature he looked. The youngest seeker was only a few billion years old, by Cybertronian standards about seventeen. His slender form and femme-like appearance simply enhanced his maturity, causing him to look as if he were slightly older. Starscream didn't mind the fact that he looked like an adult, if anything it kept others from pushing him around.

He swirled his energon around dispassionately, trying to think up a good daydream in order to distract himself.

_I wonder what Skyfire is doing right now_, he thought to himself, remembering his friend from the science academy, _I bet his life has turned out just as terrible as mine_…

Thundercracker tried to strike up a conversation to ease his friend's ailing mood, but was unable to as the mess hall doors were literally blown apart, sending the two metal panels flying across the room with smoke trailing behind them.

The doors hit the floor and screeched to a stop in front of the seekers' table, an enormous black scorch mark marring them.

"WHERE IS HE!!!??" Megatron roared in a heated rage, his narrowed optics searching the room until he locked his gaze on the mech in question. _Starscream_.

The silver tyrant stalked over to his subordinate and loomed over him angrily, taking in the smaller mech's surprised and fearful expression. Starscream didn't move, his wings trembling ever so slightly as his leader glared at him.

"Might I ask, _little fool_, why you missed your shift this morning?" He growled, heat radiating off him in waves at his sheer fury.

Starscream opened his mouth to say something, trying to think up any other reason than the truth, but all he managed was a sort of squeak, barely audible but enough to provoke Megatron to speak further.

"When have I ever allowed you to think that you may avoid your work to laze around like a useless sparkling!? Just when I thought you couldn't add anymore failures to the list, you surprise me yet again!" The gladiator shouted, raising his voice and causing Starscream to wince slightly, he knew that he was going to end up being sent to the med-bay today.

"B-but Megatron, I was exhausted, I didn't honestly mean to stay in recharge so long! I promise!" He tried pleading, keeping his voice low and quiet so that he wouldn't anger his leader anymore.

Unfortunately, his pleas fell upon deaf audios.

Megatron grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall harshly, causing the seeker to cry out as his wings bent painfully. "Stupid fool! How many times do you plan on failing me before I finally decide to offline you!?" He asked, his voice dripping with acidity.

Starscream whimpered as the ebony hand tightened on his throat, crushing his vocal chords instantly as he coughed up energon. The fluid spattered across Megatron's hand, and for a split moment the Decepticon leader found himself staring. Starscream brought small blue hands up to his own, crimson eyes half open and dazed as they looked into his, his dark lips covered in energon….he was so fragile….

Megatron's grip loosened slightly, his gaze wavering as he imagined his seeker looking at him without pain, his lips being covered with energon from the fierceness of a kiss and not the cruelty that was usually inflicted on him.

Starscream looked at Megatron like a victim would look to their murderer, glazed fear in his optics as he felt unconsciousness closing in. The tendrils of blackness, the sweet engulfing fog, the wondrous and relieving dark cloak that would swallow his mind and take him away from this pain. The emotional pain that is. The physical agony that he went through was nothing compared to the pain of having the mech he secretly adored beat him senseless.

Megatron, after realizing that he had loosened his grip on his subordinate's throat, tightened it once more, and Starscream tensed up, optics shutting tight and hands clenching around his leader's. A small noise escaped his bloodied lips, reminiscent of a cry, and to Megatron's surprise, a single tear slid down the seeker's cheek.

Starscream managed a weak sort of smile up at him, not sarcastic or condescending, but genuine, and then he allowed the shrouds of nothingness to pull him into their numbing embrace.

Megatron felt Starscream go limp, his hands sliding from his to hang at his sides and his head tilting. He stared at him, enthralled at how peaceful he looked, and for some reason, so unexplainably _young_. Megatron knew that Starscream was much younger than him, but he had never looked more like a child than he did right now. He turned away, releasing the seeker's throat and letting him slide to the floor.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker, take him to the med-bay. I want him fixed in two breems and running at optimum capacity." He ordered as he stalked out of the mess hall.

Once he was gone Thundercracker knelt down and gently picked Starscream up, being careful not to bruise his neck anymore than it already was, nor hurt his wings. "Don't worry," He told the sleeping form, "It'll all be okay."

-TBC-

………………………………......................oOo………………………………...................


	2. Chapter 2

Ch.2

Everything was surrounded in blackness, cold, dark, overwhelming blackness, immersing his thoughts into the abyss. Nothing felt like it should, he was sure that something had happened, but there wasn't any pain. His throat, his vocal chords, his wings, everything was fine. Not only that, but for the first time in his life his mind was clear, blank as an unfilled data pad. It was unheard of, the seeker always had something on his mind, whether it was memories, daydreams, thoughts of how the future or the war would turn out, or of when his next beating was going to be. But now there wasn't anything, he was just blankly alone in his conscience.

A sudden sharp stinging on his neck brought him to full consciousness, and Starscream opened his optics quickly, jolting upright into a sitting position.

"Holy Primus Starscream!" Hook shrieked, startled by the seeker's sudden movements, "Stop doing that every damn time I repair you! Are you trying to give me a spark attack!?" The Decepticon medic asked, his tone far from calm.

Starscream didn't pay him any attention, instead placing his hand on his throat gingerly, barely poking to see if there was still soreness. And of course, there was. He looked to Hook, sure that the Constructicon had already repaired him, but the visored mech merely shrugged and tapped the side of his neck. "I just injected you with a sedative, I haven't fixed you yet!" He informed him.

Starscream tried talking, but his vocals were still ruined, and once again he looked to Hook, "The reason you aren't in pain is because I _also _injected you with a very powerful anesthetic, for extra pain-killing numbness!"

The flier wasn't sure whether he should be grateful or slightly disturbed, but nonetheless he nodded understandably, knowing that Hook was only interested in getting him out of the med-bay as quickly as possible.

He felt a wave of nausea, mild but enough to concern him about the dosage of the two drugs he had been given. A mere moment later and he could feel unconsciousness once again closing in on him, though he didn't want to go back to the darkness, he was actually somewhat consoled by the bright lights of the med-bay, but it was inevitable.

Hook went to fidget with some tools, and Starscream laid back down carefully, the lack of sensations in his body causing him to relax completely and let his mind wander.

"Y'know, Megatron actually gave orders to have you repaired…" The medic told Starscream, entering gossip mode.

The seeker remained motionless, merely exhaling slowly and turning his gaze to something in the distance. _He probably wants me repaired so that he can beat me again, hell, maybe he'll finally kill me off_….He thought bleakly as the urge to close his eyes tried to overcome him, and after a moment of fighting the exhaustion, he finally slipped back into the darkness of sleep.

--

Megatron sat silently in his quarters, idly drumming his fingers on his desk as he watched a monitor closely, observing the mech who had just slipped into unconsciousness for the second time in two short Earth hours. He sighed as he looked at the seeker, small and vulnerable compared to him, it wasn't a fair fight, it never was. Always, every single time that Megatron would look at him, he would always see someone other than his second in command, other than his air commander, other than a Decepticon.

The way he saw Starscream was different than he had ever seen anyone else, he was beautiful. No, he was _gorgeous_. Absolutely stunning and irresistible.

The Decepticon leader couldn't explain why he felt the way he did, so inadequate, as if he would never be able to talk to Starscream on any other level than a violent and provoking one. "Why does he have to be so fragging lovely…." Megatron growled as he clenched his fists, turning away from the monitor as Hook began to repair Starscream. He was feeling guilty about his latest attack on the seeker, thinking back to how Starscream had tried to tell him how exhausted he was. "Why didn't I listen?" He asked, "Why couldn't I just have stayed away…."

He stood up and walked to his berth, sitting down and staring around at the darkness of his room disinterestedly. He understood his attraction to Starscream, and he understood the guilt concerning the rather one-sided battles between them, but he didn't understand the strange emotions that were confounding his spark. Something wasn't right.

He scanned his systems numerous times, but each time only one thing came up, an unlabeled emotion.

"Slag it all…" He groaned as he laid back on his berth, looking up at the ceiling and pondering what the emotion could be. No label, no identifying markers, no mathematical pointers, just a blank folder. The warlord had experienced it many times before, including when he had first met Starscream. The way the seeker looked, the way that he smiled and seemed so untouchable, his wings perked and standing proudly as they were meant to. He found himself thinking of the seeker's sleek white thighs, smooth red hips, curvy, slender stomach, tantalizing wings, beautiful dark face, crimson optics….it was enough to make any mech wild with desire.

Megatron shivered at the thought of being able to touch Starscream in any way that he wanted, oh the things he would do to him! Of course, he could get Starscream any time that he wanted to, but he wanted the seeker to be with him willingly, not leashed to his side out of fear like a well-beaten dog. Despite what he tried convincing himself he had a thought on what the emotion could be, though he was disgusted with the very idea. Anyone besides him would call it 'love', the feeling that caused an individual to become emotionally attracted to another for cosmic reasons not fully explained. It couldn't possibly be that though, when Megatron was a mere adolescent it had been the times of the Great Wars on Cybertron, and he had been a soldier, therefore all emotions connected to anything even closely reminiscent of love had been removed from his processor. All he felt was anger and hatred.

But now, it seemed that Starscream had somehow renewed the missing emotions by causing them to become more prominent in his spark, therefore causing his processor to make copies of them for psychological reasons. But it couldn't be love, it just couldn't be, perhaps it was only an extreme form of lust, that he wouldn't deny.

He thought once more of how beautiful his subordinate was, and how he would do almost anything to have him scream his name in the heat of passion…or maybe even say his name with a sleepy little whisper, as long as he wasn't causing him any pain.

The thought was almost sickening, he wasn't supposed to feel like this, he _shouldn't_.

And yet, he just couldn't help himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch.3

It had been days since Starscream and Megatron's latest spat, but tension was hanging high in the air as the seeker, his leader, and Soundwave all exited the control room with sullen expressions.

Soundwave, with data pads in hand, went to inform the other's of Megatron's latest plans for a raid, leaving his two higher officers alone to walk the halls.

"I just don't see why you insist on raiding a power plant so close to Autobot territories! It's ridiculous! Half of our troops won't even make it back should those fools counter within the first thirty minutes!" Starscream shouted angrily, trying his best to reason with his leader. But Megatron would hear none of it, "That, moron, is why I am counting on your trine to get the job done before the first thirty minutes! All you three have to do is set up a perimeter and look out for those incompetent fools while the others take care of the hard work!"

Starscream glared at the tall silver mech with frazzled unease, "Oh, and exactly what will you be doing _Mighty Megatron_, while everyone else is risking their afts carrying out your stupid plan?" He asked, stopping in front of the tyrant and crossing his arms over his chest.

Megatron stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at him in annoyance, "_I _will be waiting to clean up the inevitable mess that _you _will make out of what is always supposed to be a clean and uncomplicated plan!" He growled, causing Starscream to scoff and move his hands to his hips, his well-known attitude flaring to life, "How dare you! Why is it always my fault that _your _plans fail!? I work hard you stupid slagger"

Megatron had stopped listening to him as soon as the seeker had shifted his hands to his hips, looking down inattentively and completely ignoring his SIC as he ranted. All words were lost to the void, his mind painting mental images that, should the seeker ever find out, would be sure to have him too embarrassed to ever look his leader in the eyes again.

He fought the urge to simply jump the smaller mech, knowing that if he did there would be little to no chance that Starscream would ever trust him again. Not that he did anyways.

But those beautiful, perfect, hips! It wasn't fair that Starscream had to be so fragging sexy, and even more unfair that he had flaunt himself unknowingly, ignorant to the fact that one more sensual move could end up in him being dragged to his leader's quarters.

There was suddenly a blue hand waving in front of his optics, and Megatron blinked before looking up quickly, "What?" He asked softly, his voice uncharacteristically calm.

Starscream frowned and sighed, "Did you even hear a word I just said?" He asked with slight acidity in his voice, narrowing his optics at his leader. The seeker was slightly unnerved by the change in his leader's tone, not to mention his mood, and what was strange to him was that he had no past experiences to compare the current situation with.

He ceased glaring, eyes meeting Megatron's for a moment, he had never really looked at his leader without being reprimanded for shirking during his shift, but now he wasn't being yelled at. The silver mech was actually staring back at him, not angry, not agitated, just caught up in some kind of trance.

Starscream took a moment to let his gaze travel the length of his commander's body, he was built so strongly, but then again he was a gladiator and a soldier, he had to be strong. So much power, so much brute strength! Starscream wondered what it would be like to have those big, dark hands roaming his body without causing him any pain, finding every single sensitive spot that he had. It made the flier shiver, just the thought of being pinned beneath his leader and screaming his name in the throes of passion! It was enough to make him want to fling himself into Megatron's arms and scream "Take me! I'm yours!"

However, he restrained himself, unaware that Megatron was also restraining himself from his lustful thoughts as well.

The staring would have continued, but hurried footsteps were suddenly heard coming their direction, and Skywarp quickly rounded the corner, skidding to a stop and grabbing Starscream's hand. The purple seeker didn't even notice Megatron's presence.

"Hey Star' c'mon!" He smiled, tugging on his smaller friend quickly, "I just got some high grade and I'll let you have some, just don't tell TC and you'll be fine! I don't know why he's so overprotective, I mean hell, even if you aren't an adult yet you still act more like one than I do! Besides, I'm gonna need you to peel me off the floor later when I'm drunk off my aft!" Skywarp hadn't stopped pulling on his stunned wingmate the entire time he had been talking, not once even noticing that they weren't alone.

Starscream stared at him, optics wide with disbelief and mouth agape, his wings going from a previously perked height to nearly flat against his back.

"Not a _what _yet?" Megatron asked sharply, his expression nearly mirroring Starscream's except for the fact that he was possibly more surprised than his subordinate. 

Skywarp froze.

He turned his head slowly, seeing Megatron in the periphery of his vision. "Oh slag." Was all he could say.

"Correct me if I'm mistakenwhich I'm notbut I believe I just heard you say that he isn't an adult yet. Am I to think that that's the truth or just some kind of moronic misinterpretation on your part?" Megatron hissed, glaring at Skywarp a bit angrily, though it was clear that his curiosity was more prominent than his fury.

Skywarp was silent, torn between answering his leader and keeping quiet so as not to traumatize Starscream anymore than he already had. The younger seeker was looking to his friend with a silent plea in his bright optics, as if begging his wingmate not to say a single word. But there was little that either of them could do should Megatron want answers, and it was very clear that their leader did indeed want _answers_.

"Starscream!" He snapped, "Is this true? What is your age? Tell me now!" He ordered, barking out questions more rapidly than the seeker had time to process them.

Starscream turned from Skywarp to Megatron, his expression terrified. "I-I…well, I mean, that is to say….um…" He faltered, fidgeting with his hands and looking to the floor in uncertainty, fear etching its way into the back of his mind.

Megatron stepped forward and seized Starscream roughly by his chin, causing the seeker to stare into his optics forcefully, "Tell me, how old are you?" He asked darkly, his angered features mere inches away from Starscream's frightened ones.

The small flier whimpered as his leader watched his expression intently, not daring to allow him even a moment to think that he could get away. Starscream would admit, if given the chance he would run away from this situation as fast as possible, but there was no escaping Megatron's grip. He was going to have to answer him.

"B-by Cybertronian standards I am only seventeen, s-sir…." He stammered, afraid of his leader's reaction. He shut his optics tight, tensing up and preparing himself for the first attack. But nothing came.

Starscream opened his eyes unsurely, expecting to see Megatron seething, however, he was slightly relieved to see that the silver mech was merely staring at him. His leader's mood was indistinguishable, and it seemed as though he was thinking his subordinate's age over with something less than anger.

"Only seventeen….you're still a youngling…" He mumbled inattentively, releasing his hold on Starscream's jaw in order to continue thinking.

The small seeker stayed in front of Megatron, not moving, too scared to turn or back away, and too curious to know what the tyrant was thinking of.

"I-I'm not a youngling!" Starscream corrected, trying to get Megatron to say something more, or at least to act like himself instead of retreating into his thoughts like an actual sane mech.

The gladiator sighed in frustration, "You are, compared to me and the majority of the other mechs in this army at least….Starscream, why haven't you ever told me this?" He asked with weary concern clear in his voice as he gazed into his seeker's optics, looking for an answer if one was even possible to come up with.

Megatron couldn't explain it, but he was somehow uncomfortable with the fact that Starscream had kept his age from him. Not only that, but he couldn't believe how young the seeker was. It was unthinkable, Starscream acted and looked so mature, he was far more competent and responsible than all of the others, perhaps rivaled only by Soundwave. He was always precise, alert, and extremely serious about his work, and his intelligence was far more advanced than what a typical adolescent should show. He had graduated the science academy early, while most mechs spent nearly the majority of their life up until middle-age in the academy. He was a brilliant scientist, and far more talented in combat. Not to mention his appearance, there was no way that someone of such a young age could look anywhere near as _seductive _as him. It simply wasn't possible.

Starscream looked to the floor in sudden desolation, a forlorn frown in place of his timid expression. "I thought that if you found out you'd hurt me…..well, hurt me even more." He said quietly, not paying any attention as Skywarp placed his hand protectively on his shoulder, squeezing slightly in order to remind Starscream that he was still there.

The younger seeker shrank against his wingmate's chest, fearing that his leader would be furious with him.

"I should offline you for such a lie, hiding something on such an important level could have ended up in disaster if you weren't as smart as you were, I swear to Primus Starscream, you're a youngling! A mere youngling!" Megatron roared in a heated rage as he began to pace back and forth across the hall, trying to convince himself to beat the slag out Starscream, but no matter how angry he was with the seeker he just couldn't bring himself to hurt him. Not right now at least. He sighed in frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Despite the fact that I want to _kill _youright now, I won't. Just, get out of my sight, if I even see your wingtip turning a corner then I swear I'll rip you apart!" He shouted, pointing down the hall, "And Skywarp, neither you nor Thundercracker are to speak to him, he is to sit in his quarters and think about his deceit!"

Skywarp saluted out of instinct, "Yes sir!" He told his leader, turning to get out of the situation as fast as possible, and to find Thundercracker so that the two could devise a plan on how to get into Starscream's quarters without Megatron knowing.

Megatron, expecting Starscream to turn as well, was immensely surprised when the seeker glared at him, standing motionless in the corridor. "Do you think I'm a sparkling?" He asked as he sauntered toward his leader, "Do you honestly think that sending me to my room to think about what I've done is a fitting punishment?"

Megatron watched his second with interest, his annoyance ebbing into curiosity. True, he did sound as if he were punishing a child, but then again how were you supposed to deal with an adolescent who had all the experience of someone twice his age?

Starscream paused in front of the gladiator, wings perking again in a show of arrogance. "I am not a child Megatron, I may have been when I first became a Decepticon. But you. It was your beatings, your training, your…..touch…that made me how I am today, no longer a child, but the warrior that you wanted me to be. The fact that I hid my age from you should have no affect on you whatsoever, I am what you made me." The seeker told him, emphasizing the fact with a level glare straight into his leader's optics.

Megatron snorted, "You're an arrogant, showy, weak-minded fool Starscream. A child as well as an unappreciative dissident!"

"I am what you made me…" Starscream repeated, his gaze falling to the floor and a forlorn expression overtaking him.

Megatron had no idea what to say, he didn't know what to do, he didn't have the programming to deal with situations like this the way they needed to be dealt with. Starscream was fragile mentally as well as physically, he knew this, and yet what could he say to the seeker? Showing him any amount of kindness was out of the question, after all, Megatron couldn't risk looking as if he actually cared. However, responding with anger was hardly the answer either.

Tentatively, the warlord lifted a large black hand to Starscream's cheek, causing the seeker to look at him with confusion.

"If you are what I made you then you are not a child…..you are a skilled warrior, _my _warrior, _my _second in command, and _my _air commander." He told him, staring into the seeker's beautifully bright optics with uncertainty, he could see all of his subordinate's confusion, all of fear, all of his….adoration? _Dear Primus why can't I just turn away right now and leave him to stand here?_ He asked himself in thought, never stopping his gaze into his second's wondrous optics. Still so innocent, though glazed with cold, calculating, predatory prowess that Megatron knew he couldn't trust. Starscream may be young, but he was still a ruthless killer, and the Decepticon leader knew all too well that one turn, one sideways glance, one small flicker of his optics could have Starscream's deadly null rays charged and ready for use. Another thought came to mind as he noticed Starscream's confusion grow to near panic, his breathing became erratic, his wings were trembling, he looked as if he were fighting against his instincts to stay still. Megatron remembered that he was touching him, he had his hand resting against the soft metal skin of his cheek, that's why Starscream was so tense. _He thinks I'm going to hurt him…_Megatron acknowledged in what had to be concern. He knew that he should punish the seeker, as a matter of fact, he had already pondered on locking him away in the brig and beating him to the point of near death twice daily. But he couldn't, he just couldn't bring himself to hurt the younger mech anymore.

"Starscream…" Megatron started quietly, his voice nearly a growl as he fought to form the words he had wanted to tell the seeker for ages now. "I….I apologize…"

It may not have been much, but the meaning behind it was substantial, and the fact that those words were even in Megatron's vocabulary was amazing enough.

The seeker was shocked, his optics widening once more as he couldn't break away from staring at his leader. However, the shock didn't last long, and quickly hysteria rose to dominate Starscream's thoughts.

"No……no, no, no, no, no!!! I-I don't accept your apology! You've never apologized before! Not until now! What, are you afraid to hit me, are you afraid of hurting someone who's underage!? You sure as hell didn't mind before when you've beaten me senseless!" Starscream shrieked, pushing Megatron's hand away quickly. "You can't honestly tell me that the _Mighty Megatron _is afraid of hurting an adolescent, a 'mere child' as you said earlier!"

He scoffed at his leader, eyes seemingly burning holes straight through him, "Where's the real Megatron? Where's the stupid old slagger who would have me slammed six feet into the nearest wall by now?", though the seeker hated to admit it, he was genuinely skeptic of his leader's identity. The silver mech simply stood, looming over him, stoic as ever but with an expression suggesting both anger and sympathy. "I don't fear hurting a youngling Starscream. I fear _nothing_. However, I do worry about hurting _you_." He said honestly, his optics narrowing to lock with his subordinate's once more. He watched intently to see what emotions he could pick up on, if he was still frightened, confused, or possibly uncertain. But it soon became clear that only one emotion was streaming through Starscream's mind, anger. Clear burning anger nearly bordering on hatred, almost tangible in the air as Starscream glowered at him, lip curled into a silent snarl.

"You're pathetic…" The seeker finally said through gritted teeth, his wings still trembling, "You can't actually expect me to think that you care…"

Megatron's expression never changed, his voice never rising to a point of anger. "Think what you will. I could _care _less what your opinion on the matter is Starscream, because in the end all that matters is what _I _think!" Clearly the flier wasn't happy with what he heard, his expression only turning more feverish and his optics glowing so brightly that Megatron wondered whether or not a tear would fall again.

"That's your problem….You see me as nothing but a possession!" Starscream choked out, trying to sound as casual as possible, but his voice betrayed him.

His leader appeared unmoved, cold gaze centered on the trembling seeker in front of him, "You belong to me Starscream, you swore your loyalty, and ultimately your life, _to me_!"

Starscream's optics widened in sheer disbelief, his stance and gaze faltering. An undignified noise reminiscent of a gasp escaped his lips. Momentarily, his wings drooped, lowered completely against his back in a show of surprise and submission. _How dare he?! _The seeker thought irately, his hands clenching into fists at his sides, he had always known that Megatron remembered his vows, but not that he actually believed what he had told him. Perhaps the stupid slagger was still hopeful though.

"I'm not a toy that you can abuse at will Megatron…" He said quietly.

"You are if it's what I want." Megatron stated in a grating tone, his dominance clear.

Starscream's expression was enough to make the warlord regret his words, the young seeker looked as if he were going to break down and cry, as if all of his long pent-up emotions were about to finally be set free. However, he restrained himself surprisingly well, his spark wrenching expression changing impossibly fast.

"Megatron….one day all abused toys break," Starscream explained in a barely audible whisper, "and what's broken can't always be fixed…"

He then looked into his leader's optics once more, not long enough to allow the amount of pain he was in to be seen by the more powerful mech.

With that, he turned to walk to his quarters, leaving Megatron to stand looking after him with a feeling that he had made a huge mistake. The tyrant sighed in frustration, "I'm an idiot!" He told himself languidly, inwardly seething as his spark pulsed in blatant anger.

He sighed once more, remembering the feeling of Starscream's cool metal skin beneath his hand, and stalked off to his quarters in order to plan on how to talk to the seeker later.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch.4

The next day arrived with barely a word between the Commander and his Second, neither looked at one another with anything less than an awkward glance.

It was unnerving to Skywarp, who had told Thundercracker about his slip-up the previous night. When they had snuck into Starscream's quarters the younger seeker hadn't even acknowledged them, staring straight at the wall for hours while rocking softly on his berth. Though it took some time, he eventually lulled himself to sleep.

Thundercracker had been mad when Skywarp told him about the situation, the first reason being that the dark seeker had blatantly outed Starscream's most well kept secret, and the second being that he had told _Megatron _of all mechs! Secretly there was a third reason that he planned on lecturing Skywarp for, and that was about the high grade he planned on giving the scarlet seeker. But that lecture could wait.

All of the Decepticons who had been chosen for the latest raid stood in filed lines in the Control Room, patiently yet eagerly awaiting their leader's orders.

Megatron paced back and forth in front of his throne, wearily eyeing Soundwave from time to time as the Communications officer kept his gaze on a silent Starscream. The tyrant had already explained the objective of their raid, and the plan to be used, which predominantly counted the seekers as the major advantage they would have over the Autobots this time. All that was left to do now was await Starscream's order to have his trine and the RJ-class seekers mobilize and secure a perimeter around the nuclear plant they were aiming for.

However, the Air Commander stood motionless, his optics locked onto a less than specifiable object on the far side of the room. His expression was meek and unusual, his body language no longer displaying arrogance or confidence, nor superiority.

Thundercracker let out an unheard sigh, _He isn't even Starscream anymore_…the blue seeker thought to himself. Neither he nor Skywarp knew what had been said after Megatron had ordered the teleporter away, but whatever it was it had left their wingmate in a state of silence.

Megatron growled, still waiting on Starscream to order his seekers to the nuclear power plant.

The scarlet jet remained motionless, staring into the distance without even heeding his leader's angered countenance.

"Starscream!" Megatron snapped suddenly, teeth bared in a deadly display as the young seeker jumped. His wings lowered instantaneously at the sound of his name, expecting retribution for something he wasn't even sure he did.

"Y-yes Lord Megatron?" He asked forlornly, optics dulling.

A few jaws dropped around the room, some mechs refusing to believe that Starscream had just answered Megatron without using sarcasm or uttering a rude quip of sorts. That was something that the seeker _never _did!

"Ah, so you are awake after all!" The warlord smiled cruelly, mocking his second's daydreaming. "I suggest that you gather your insignificant thoughts as well as your trine and move out! You're wasting time youngling!" Megatron yelled, purposefully using the information he had gained to add a sting of humiliation to his Air Commander's ego.

Starscream responded with an angered scowl and sharp glare in his leader's direction, muttering what sounded like "stupid scrap heap" under his breath. Yet before Megatron could ask or reprimand him, the seeker was already initiating the first part of Megatron's plan.

"Dirge, Thrust, Ramjet, all of you are to secure the outermost perimeter. Skywarp, you need to round up all of the fleshlings, Thundercracker you'll be watching over the north point of the plant while I maintain the south." Was all the small jet needed to say before he was met with approving and understanding nods.

The RJ-class seekers ran from the control room to the launching pad without further delay, and Skywarp took hold of Starscream and Thundercracker's arms to warp them from the base. After a bright flash, all of the seekers were gone.

Megatron frowned a bit angrily, still glaring at the spot where Starscream had previously been standing. His altercation with the scarlet jet still loomed in the back of his mind, causing the despot to inwardly gnaw at his own stupidity. _Why did I have to be so careless as to insult him?_ He asked himself in a moment of silence, allowing the remaining troops in the room a small amount of time to ready themselves for battle. All he wanted was for Starscream to understand how he felt, though truthfully he couldn't even explain what he was feeling for the seeker.

Soundwave turned his masked gaze to his leader, cutting into Megatron's troubled thoughts with a well-timed comm., //::Suggestion; Try talking to Starscream on the battlefield, when he is distracted.::// The telepath told him, the glint in his visor alerting Megatron that he had read Starscream's thoughts when the seeker was present—that is before Starscream quickly set up mental blocks. Megatron nodded in regards to his communications officer.

"Decepticons; Move out." He commanded.

--

Laserfire streaked through the clear blue sky around Starscream in hurried flashes, one shot grazing his right wing painfully. The seeker hissed and barreled forward with all the speed that he could manage, twisting and turning as he deployed complicated aerial maneuvers to avoid being hit again.

With a sharp whine of thrusters, he pivoted to the left, turning a near ninety-degree angle in the air as he saw his fellow seekers in the distance.

There! He saw Skywarp and Thundercracker a mere two kilometers away from him fighting a battle with the Aerialbots, if he could make it then he would be alright.

Energon began to seep from the wound on his wing, drawing a slightly worried groan from Starscream as he feared he'd have to land prematurely. He kicked his thrusters into high gear and ignored the air gracefully whipping around his frame, closing the distance between himself and his wingmates in a matter of seconds. Once he reached the two other jets he commenced assisting them to fight their offenders, transforming into his bipedal mode and quickly shooting at Air-Raid. The Autobot rocketed around him, flying in circles to try and intimidate him away from the match, but Starscream was less than frightened. He concentrated on the other mech's haphazard flight pattern, null rays at the ready. Not even a moment later Air-Raid received a searing shot to the chassis, his engines whining in exertion and panic as he spiraled to Earth.

Starscream's victory propelled his wingmates to end their current battles as quickly as possible, the seekers saw no need in fighting continuously, especially when they still had an objective. The plant had been drained of energy, but Soundwave and numerous other ground troops were being thwarted by the Autobots each time they attempted an escape.

A frown tugged at the corners of Starscream's mouth when the two other Aerialbots who had been annoying Thundercracker and Skywarp were finally shot down. One of them, who he suspected to be Silverbolt, was unfortunate to catch fire.

Thundercracker rubbed his helm sorely, awaiting Skywarp to transform as the three jets hovered in the sky, exhausted expressions on their faces. The blue seeker was bleeding in multiple areas and had a particularly deep wound on his right leg, making Starscream wince simply from looking at it. He would have to be repaired once this ridiculous nightmare was over and done with. Skywarp was lucky enough to be unscathed, his teleporting abilities serving him well.

It was times like this that Starscream wished he had special abilities, such as Thundercracker's sonic booms and Skywarp's teleporting, how much easier life would be…..

"What now?" Thundercracker asked suddenly, having regained his breath.

The scarlet seeker looked to the ground, noticing that Megatron and Optimus were locked in hand-to-hand combat as usual, neither of them relenting. Both powerful mechs displaying so much strength that everyone around them could almost _feel _it. The gladiator's ferocity clearly radiated off of him in waves, contrasted by his rival's unwillingness to become enraged. _Optimus Prime is such a fool_……Starscream thought to himself as Megatron kneed him in the midsection, causing him to step backwards in surprise. However, though the fight of the two faction leaders was very interesting, the flier forced his gaze away, "We have to keep all the other Autobots away from Soundwave and the carriers or else this raid will be disastrous. That incompetent fool Megatron ought to have known this would happen!" He hissed passively, motioning to the ground in disinterest.

Thundercracker and Skywarp both nodded, understanding that what little energon they had managed to gather had to be protected and transported back to base.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker, I'll distract them while you two help with the transport. We need to end this while we still can." Starscream informed them, looking for multiple targets that were near Soundwave and the cassettes. As his wingmates descended he vigilantly aimed and precisely shot down a different number of Autobots, watching them fall to the earth. He knew that the effects of his null rays on the setting he had them on would only paralyze them temporarily, but he wasn't intending to kill, not today. After all, as long as the coast was clear for his friends he could care less about whether the Autobots lived or died.

None of the mechs he shot were getting up, their joints sparking and metal screeching as everything locked up from the null rays' effects. Starscream couldn't help but smirk at that, they were all pathetic excuses for warriors, not even fit to walk on the disgusting dirt that Earth was made of. Thundercracker and Skywarp landed by Soundwave, allowing the telepath to hand them stacks of cubes, at which point Skywarp would quickly warp the two of them to a safer location. This process continued until all of the salvaged cubes were finally transported, and the two other seekers looked up at their still-protecting trine leader. Starscream smiled at them warmly, seeing Skywarp's grin and Thundercracker's relieved expression. Now all that was left was to inform Megatron that everything was—

A sudden jolt and harsh impact hit Starscream's side with armor-shattering force, ripping a strangled cry from his lips as he was tackled by someone much larger than himself. Strong arms wrapped tightly around him in a crushing grip, breaking his canopy instantaneously as the splintering glass cut him in numerous places. He didn't even register that he and his attacker were in an all out free-fall toward Earth's surface, too occupied by the fact that he had just been blind-sided.

Both mechs hit the ground with such momentum that Starscream's spinal relays snapped under the pressure, dragging an agonized scream from the seeker as he writhed in pain under the other mech.

Burning torture flared through his systems, searing his very being and nearly forcing him into unconsciousness. He could feel the enveloping blackness that he knew so well starting to close in on him, and he wanted so badly to welcome it, to just let it embrace him and relieve the pain. But he couldn't, this was a battle, if he passed out then there was no doubt that he'd be killed by his attacker. Which brought to mind the fact that he didn't even know who had attacked him. Through the horrifyingly unbearable pain that erupted in the scarlet seeker's body he was able to look up, fading red optics barely being able to lock onto intense blue ones. A familiar face soon became noticeable, and Starscream cried out in disbelief.

"S-Skyfire!" He shouted, voice containing nothing but pure confusion as he tried feebly to push the larger jet off of him.

However, the Autobot was unmoved. Skyfire stared down at Starscream for what seemed like hours, gaze caught between a look of sorrow and a glare. His countenance was angered, though what he was really feeling was an enigma to his previous friend as the seeker struggled weakly, his injuries too extensive to allow him to fight back.

The scientist finally spoke, his voice cold and hurt, "There's no other way Starscream!" He told his captive with an unmistakable sense of regret. "You've changed too much! I can't talk to you like we used to, and you……you've done so many terrible things now, you aren't even you anymore! I have to turn you in!", Skyfire tried desperately to explain why he had attacked the other flier, and yet Starscream didn't understand.

He looked to the older mech with a pleading expression, breathing heavy as he fought to stay conscious, "Skyfire please…..I-I'm still me, you don't…..have to do this."

Each breath only succeeded in doing him more internal damage, and he arched once more in pain, broken cockpit scraping against Skyfire's chest. The pain was unbearable, like a wildfire running through the seeker's veins that couldn't be put out. He screamed in desperation, the cry sounding almost like a plea for death as his processor was flooded with imminent termination signs.

Megatron stopped cold as a spark-wrenching cry filled the air, ringing through his audios. He knew that voice, he knew that cry, he had heard it so many times before, and yet this time something was different. It was Starscream…But what in the Pit had caused the seeker to scream like that, he had never heard a more agonized sound in all his life. _Something must have happened to him, what if he's been hurt? What if he's in stasis? Dear Primus no, what if he's been __**killed**_? Thoughts raced through the tyrant's mind in a jumbled stream of panic-ridden negativity, and he shook his head to rid himself of such horrid things. His gaze swept across the battlefield frantically as he tried to pinpoint where Starscream was, and once he saw the seeker he was horrified.

"Starscream!" Megatron yelled, completely abandoning his fight with Optimus Prime and dashing toward his pinned second.

He could see the seeker, he could see the tormented expression on his lovely face, the way that he was bleeding and in pain, trapped by a mech that was so much larger than him. There was no way that he could fight while in such a state, and the other mech knew it, he knew that Starscream was as good as dead. Megatron felt his spark pulse with a sickening feeling, as if it were going to be ripped in two at the thought of Starscream dying.

He was mere yards from the seeker, so close, and yet suddenly he was tackled to the ground. Optimus Prime diverted the warlord's attention back to their battle, forcing him to fight. The Autobot leader was quick to make sure that Megatron didn't reach Skyfire, probably not wanting one of his soldiers to be harmed. However, Megatron wasn't focusing on his nemesis at the moment, he blocked the numerous punches that were thrown his way on instinct, gladiatorial reflex taking over as his optics locked with Starscream's and he stood to gain some sort of advantage over Prime.

Skyfire had picked the seeker up, cradling him gently and standing to get him out of the dirt. The small flier weakly reached a blue hand towards his leader, mouthing his name silently in a plea for help.

That was it, Megatron couldn't take anymore. He grabbed Optimus' fist as the Autobot leader tried to land another punch, then he grabbed the mech's elbow as well, hauling him into the air and throwing him. It may have been unorthodox to his normal hand-to-hand fighting techniques but he was far from caring, Starscream was the only thing he could focus on.

The silver tyrant's optics narrowed at Skyfire, who had taken notice of him for the first time and was now glaring back, blue optics locked with pit-fire red ones. They were only yards apart, not far at all, and hatred was tangible between the two of them. Though Skyfire had a size advantage, Megatron could easily take him out, he knew that the white jet had little to no fighting experience. In fact, the only thing that was keeping the Decepticon leader from tearing the other mech apart was the trembling seeker in his arms.

Megatron growled, "Release him." He stated bluntly, voice far beyond mere anger.

Skyfire leveled his tone, "No."

"What do you wish to accomplish by keeping him?"

"I'll accomplish saving him from you! I can make him the way he used to be, when it was just me and him, before you got your filthy hands on him Decepticon!" Skyfire shouted.

Megatron's enraged gaze narrowed even more, and he scoffed at the idea. "Starscream became a Decepticon willingly you giant moron. Now I suggest you release him before I am forced to take him from you!"

The tyrant's tone had been final, fully intending the larger mech to give up on words and put Starscream aside so that they could settle this. But no, being an Autobot, the shuttle just had to continue the senseless banter, trying to draw out the peace without reacting with violence. This was perhaps a situation that Megatron could rate amongst the top five worst in his life cycle….

"He would have never joined your cause of his own volition Megatron! I know Starscream, much better than anyone else! He was a brilliant scientist who hated harming any living being……until you changed him…" The jet started darkly, paying no attention to Starscream's barely-audible cry of protest. "You took him, and you told him lies! You manipulated his willingness to learn in order to shape him into what you viewed as the perfect soldier! But now, now I won't let you hurt him anymore, he was my friend, and I'll make sure that he sees the errors in your ways!"

Megatron roared angrily, fusion cannon fully powered and pointed at Skyfire's head. "You _dare_!?" He hissed menacingly.

Skyfire remained still, never relenting in his glaring, "I dare anything for him."

All of Megatron's patience snapped at that point, "Fool!" He shouted, firing his fusion cannon without thinking, it was an impulse, and a rather stupid one at that.

Skyfire ducked as quick as his hulking frame would allow him to, effectively dodging the cannon fire, but he wasn't prepared for a well-aimed kick that hit him in the face, sending him backwards and causing him to drop Starscream. The seeker managed an agonized shriek that could have caused anyone's spark to skip a beat in pity, and then proceeded to curl into a ball.

With Starscream now in no immediate danger, Megatron all out attacked his previous captor, deploying some old fighting moves that were sure to do major damage, as they once had in the arena.

The Decepticon warlord was so engrossed with his task that he didn't bother to think anything about Optimus Prime. The other leader had regained his height after being so precariously thrown across the battlefield, and was on a direct path back to his fight with Megatron. However…..

He stopped when he noticed the shaking, curled form of the Decepticon Second-in-Command laying in the dirt. That was certainly odd, he had heard rumors of this particular mech's vanity being able to exceed Sunstreaker's, so why in the name of Primus would he be wallowing in the soil? It took a moment for the Autobot commander to realize all of the energon that was bleeding from the seeker's wounds, and his smashed canopy…Well this wasn't good.

He looked quickly to Skyfire, who he was sure had previously been fighting with the seeker or something like that, but found that now the large jet was completely wrapped up in the task of trying not to be ripped apart. Great, so now he was faced with a dying seeker—and a Decepticon at that—and the possible offlining of one of his most valued subordinates. He leaned down carefully, inspecting the seeker's damage as best he could, though he wasn't a medic.

Panicked red optics flew to his face, locking onto his form with what seemed like fear and confusion. However, the emotions behind the dimmed eyes quickly changed to animosity and panic at having the leader of the enemy faction so close to him.

"It's alright….Starscream isn't it? I'm not going to hurt you." Optimus told the small jet quietly as he gingerly reached out to ghost a hand across the seeker's shoulder. The Decepticon bared his teeth in hatred, trying to move away from the offending mech but failing, he was too weak and far too injured to put up any form of a fight.

Optimus felt sudden pity for the mech, he was like an injured bird, shot down and now left with broken wings. "I won't hurt you…" He repeated, once again reaching for him, but this time he moved to lift the seeker into a fireman's carry, intent on getting him help of some kind.

Starscream whined in horror, arching slightly in the Autobot leader's arms as he tried to be released, but he could barely move thanks to his spinal relays being snapped. He didn't want to be taken as a prisoner by the Autobot faction, knowing that he would most likely be sent to Cybertron and executed by the High Council for war crimes. "I won't hurt you…" The soft voice of Optimus Prime kept trying to tell him, trying to make him believe that he would indeed be alright. What, did he think he was stupid or something?

Ironhide suddenly ran to his leader's side, taking no note of the seeker that was in his commander's arms as he breathlessly explained the situation. "The Decepticons have managed to transport the energon, this battle was a loss Prime!" The weapons specialist said in exhaustion, having received more than his fair share of damages during all the chaos. Optimus gestured down to Starscream, "Perhaps it wasn't a complete loss." He smiled behind the mask in relief, inwardly prideful as Ironhide's optics widened in surprise. "Is that—" He started in disbelief, "The Second-in-Command? It is." He finished a bit smugly.

Starscream arched again, screaming painfully as his wings were bent a little from the pressure, and Ironhide watched him in stilled wonder. "Geez Prime, are ya' sure that thing won't be more of a liability than an asset?" He questioned his leader's opinion on the matter of taking the seeker prisoner. Optimus chuckled dryly, "I guess we'll find out…"

With that said he motioned for Ironhide to call in the troops, handing the seeker to him for a moment so that he could transform and allow the jet to be laid in his trailer for transport.

Most of the Autobots quickly transformed and headed after their leader, with only a few straggling to shoot and cover their trail.

--

When he realized that the battle was ending, Megatron stood up and kicked Skyfire roughly in the side, knowing that he had successfully sent the mech into stasis. He didn't kill him though, he had no interest in it today, he might as well let the miserable Autobot scum come after him later.

The Decepticon tyrant wiped energon from his hands, face, and chest, he had really made a mess this time, pity too, because energon stains were a bother once you weren't rewarded for them anymore.

He walked over to Soundwave, "Report." He demanded, looking around a bit distractedly.

The telepath stood rigid, and for the first time ever didn't answer his leader.

Megatron growled, "I said report Soundwave!"

"Outcome; Autobots have retreated, we have successfully gathered 462 cubes of energon……"

"Ah, excellent…" Megatron said in disinterest, his gaze still sweeping across the battlefield. "Go on."

Soundwave's stance faltered ever so minutely, and he stalled.

"Lord Megatron. Starscream and Thundercracker are both missing from battle…." The navy mech managed to choke out in his normal tone, thank Primus he had a mask to regulate his voice or else he would've probably sounded like a squeaky toy.

Megatron stopped looking around the battlefield instantly, every one of his joints locking up in surprise and horror.

Soundwave continued, "Probability; Both were captured by Autobots." His leader tensed even more, optic twitching in some unknown emotion as his fists clenched.

"They took Starscream? They took _my _Starscream?!" Megatron roared suddenly, turning on his communications officer and grabbing the mech by the throat.

Soundwave had no idea how to react, after all, Megatron had never strangled him before, only "his" Starscream.

"Lord Megatron; Perhaps………Perhaps a prisoner exchange would be in the best of interest!" The telepath suggested, not allowing his panic to show through though he was fully aware that his leader may kill him.

Megatron growled, hand squeezing tightly around his lieutenant's throat in anger, "What prisoners do we have fool?! They've all been executed already!" He yelled, optics narrowed into burning slits as he nearly crushed Soundwave's neck. The telepath held his hands up to try and placate his leader's rage, "We have Skyfire." He told Megatron, reminding the gladiator of his latest near-casualty. The warlord rose an optic ridge and promptly dropped the navy mech, "Ah, yes……_Him_." He growled in disgust, how Starscream had ever been friends with the insufferable scientist he could never guess.

A sudden horrified shriek drew everyone's attention and Skywarp made himself noticeable in a rather distraught fashion, warping here and there and looking frantically for something.

"M-My trine! My trine is gone! Thundercracker and Starscream both!" He wailed, he had only seen them both mere moments ago it seemed. Starscream had been watching over him and TC, seeming perfectly fine as he appeared to be their personal guardian angel. And Thundercracker, he had only left his side for a split second, just to tend to some unfinished business with the Autobot twins. But now they were both gone, both of them, just vanished.

The dark seeker continued warping around until he inevitably came up empty handed, his wings shaking violently. Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust all looked at him with pity, understanding why he was so upset. Seekers practically _lived _off of their trinemates, they confided in each other, joked with each other, trained with each other. The list could go on and on, and Skywarp proved this by letting out a spark-chilling howl of pure misery, his trine gone and his sanity gone with them.

Megatron watched the seeker with a pang of remorse in his processor, he had never seen the mech act like that. Primus he hadn't even been able to tell Starscream how he felt, but perhaps that was a good thing seeing as how Skywarp cared about the Air Commander and was now losing his mind over it. The gladiator knew that if he had confessed what he felt for Starscream—and if the feelings were reciprocated—he would probably be in the same condition right now….

He looked to Skyfire, who was still unconscious, and pondered the fact that a prisoner exchange might actually work. "Blitzwing." He said, summoning the large triple changer in an instant. "Collect the Autobot and have him thrown in the brig." Blitzwing saluted and went to his assigned task.

"As for you Soundwave, take Skywarp to the repair-bay, and tell Hook to keep an optic on him lest he wants to have a deranged seeker running loose in the base."

The telepath nodded, relying on the help of the coneheads in order to carry Skywarp—who was struggling and screaming nonsensical obscenities—off to the Nemesis.

Megatron tried to shake the feeling of having lost Starscream from his mind, and ordered his troops back to base.


	5. Chapter 5

Try and guess which one of the Autobots Starscream falls for ^w^

If you guess right then I will award you with my undying love and a year's supply of pocky! (lol I don't really have a year's supply of pocky so the undying love part will just have to do…..)

---

**Ch.5**

Starscream awoke to a splitting pain along his back and chest, the excruciating sensations running through him had brought him right back to consciousness. The seeker couldn't even remember when he had fallen into recharge, or stasis, whatever it was….

He could feel the regions where most of the pain was accumulated, but as for other areas like his hands and lower legs, he was completely numb.

It was frightening to say the least, and his optics snapped open in panic.

He looked around as best he could, noticing orangey walls through the dim lighting, as well as the bright energy bars of a cell.

Great. He was a prisoner.

With a small whimper of agony Starscream made an attempt to sit up, though he couldn't, his damages were too severe to allow much movement of any kind. He resigned himself to curling back into a ball, slowly and rather childlike. At the moment, he could care less what he looked like, the only thing he was able to pay attention to were the warnings that lined his vision. He was scared, perhaps more than he had ever been before, and knew that he would most likely end up dying in here. But what did it matter….?

Suddenly a sound of relief reached his audios, and from the next cell over, Starscream could here Thundercracker's voice calling to him.

"Screamer? Are you alright?" He asked softly, trying to avoid the bars as he reached through and gently stroked Starscream's helm.

The younger seeker let out a crying sound, and pressed into the comforting touch as much as he could, allowing his friend to console his fears of the situation.

Thundercracker had a sinking feeling in his spark as he looked at his trinemate, his canopy was completely shattered, revealing his spark chamber, and even though his spark wasn't completely revealed it was still an overwhelming vulnerability to have it shown like that. His wings were slightly bent and scratched up with numerous gashes and bleeding cuts. There were scorch marks all over him from less serious laser blasts. And judging from his lack of movement, Thundercracker could only guess that he had received damage to either his spinal relays or the part of his processor that regulated voluntary movements.

And Primus all of the energon….He was covered in it, his own life fluid constantly bleeding from his many different wounds. Thundercracker had never seen him in a condition worse than this. Even Megatron's beatings weren't nearly this bad.

"It'll all be okay Star'……" He tried to convince the other, "We'll make it out of this okay, just like we make it out of everything else okay. You just have to fight."

The smaller jet remained motionless, his labored breathing suddenly slowing and becoming inaudible.

Thundercracker had to fight to keep from panicking, "C'mon Star'. You have to fight, you're good at fighting, you never back down, so don't give up now! Please don't give up….Please don't leave me Star….A-and what about Skywarp? He's all alone now, if you give up then I'll give up and then 'Warp will be all on his own! We can't do that to him!" He tried to keep his wingmate's mind occupied with reasons to stay alive, to keep from going offline even though Thundercracker knew there was only a one in a million chance that Starscream would live if he didn't receive help quickly. "Please Star…..please don't leave me, you can't, you just can't…." He had resorted to whispering to the younger seeker.

Starscream pressed a little further into the comforting touch to his helm, enjoying the feeling as it contrasted the pain. He couldn't really hear what Thundercracker was saying that well, all he could make out was his name and a few pleas to stay alive for some reason or the other.

"TC……." The young flier managed to whisper, fighting his intakes as they painfully burned from the effort, "I-I'm scared……"

Thundercracker smiled a little at finally being answered, but couldn't repress a moan of sorrow for Starscream. He had never heard those words come from the fiery scarlet seeker before in a single sentence.

"I wish they'd take these damned bars down Starscream. I know you're scared, and I wish I could help you, but I can't, you have to fight okay?"

Starscream nodded slowly, gritting his teeth against the pain as he focused on Thundercracker's soothing voice. Thank Primus that he would at least have TC with him when he died….

--

Starscream came online again when he felt an unfamiliar touch to his damaged wings, his audios registering many different voices at close proximity to him.

"What do you think Ratchet? Does he have a chance at all?" That was Optimus Prime speaking, Starscream could remember his voice from the battlefield.

An unsure sigh made itself heard, and the touch to his wings moved to his broken canopy. "Well Prime, It'll be one heck of a victory if he makes it…"

Optimus sighed as well, "Let's hope he does, I never intended for anyone—Autobot or Decepticon—to end up this badly hurt."

Another voice scoffed from nearby, "I think he deserved it! After all, it's him that got Skyfire caught!" This voice was gruff and final with a heavy country accent, but Starscream couldn't place it.

"Actually Ironhide, it was Skyfire that did this to him, not vice versa." A calm and collected voice informed the other mech.

"Prowl's right man, I saw the whole thing!" This voice Starscream knew, it was Jazz, he had once talked to the Autobot saboteur when he was sent on a mission to the Nemesis and was nearly caught by Soundwave. But Starscream, being the normal idiot that he usually was, had let the mech escape, resulting in a beating and a week in the brig. He was proud though, Jazz was a nice guy.

He heard someone moving and then a soft touch registered on his cheek, "Starscream? Can you hear me?"

The seeker's optics opened slowly, and he was more than unnerved to see Optimus Prime staring down at him with gentle blue optics. The Autobot leader was obviously worried about him judging from the fact that he was being overly careful. He could barely feel the soft touch to his cheek, and though he had to admit that it was mildly soothing he was more disturbed by it than comforted.

Optimus chuckled lightly, "Can you speak?" He asked, removing his hand so that the seeker wouldn't feel intimidated.

Starscream stayed silent, dimmed red optics trained onto the Autobot leader's face, waiting for any sign of anger or annoyance. But he couldn't tell what the mech was thinking, he had that stupid mask on and it made it nearly impossibly to read his emotions. Still, his gaze never shifted, he refused to answer the Autobot.

Optimus sighed and sat down next to the curled-up seeker, looking at him sorrowfully. "I need to know whether or not you can speak, you need to be repaired and the amount of pain you're in will determine the amount of sedatives that Ratchet needs to give you, so once again, can you speak?"

Starscream remained silent.

Ironhide grunted and walked up to where the small flier was laying, leaning down and pointing an oversized cannon in his face. "Alright Decepticreep, c'mon and talk! I know that you can so why don't you spare yourself the trouble of us _making _you talk!" The weapons specialist threatened irately.

Starscream simply curled further into his defensive position, optics leaving Optimus and shifting to the floor in detachment.

This brought an angered growl from the neighboring cell, "Leave him alone you stupid fragger!" Thundercracker yelled, stalking back and forth along the cell bars as he kept watch over Starscream, viciously glaring at the Autobots surrounding him.

Ironhide stood up and pointed the weapon at the blue seeker, "Well would you rather talk for him!?" He asked in disdain for the mech. Thundercracker narrowed his optics at the red 'bot, wings pointed out in a deadly display and teeth bared. "If I could then I would, but I can't, and you morons aren't helping by pointing guns in his face!" He shouted angrily as Ironhide threatened to shove the cannon through the deadly bars. Thundercracker growled loudly and made as if he were going to jump at the bars, which caused Ironhide to back up a little. The blue seeker smiled and continued pacing as he had been before, gaze falling back to Starscream.

Ironhide stepped away from the cell and walked over to Ratchet, mumbling something under his breath to the medic.

Ratchet merely shrugged and watched as Optimus tried to make Starscream talk. "Come now, we can help you if you'll speak to us." He said softly, reaching forward once more to place a hand on the seeker's cheek, bringing another angered growl from Thundercracker. Starscream looked up at Optimus weakly, trying to gather enough strength to fight the pain of his hitching intakes, "I….." He started, gritting his teeth as his chest burned from the effort. "I w-won't, tell you…any, anything."

Optimus lightly stroked the seeker's cheek and chuckled, "It's alright, I'm not trying to get you to talk of the war, I only want to know how much pain you're in so that Ratchet can help you." He admitted with a calm tone to his already peaceful voice.

Starscream's optics dimmed again as a sign of approaching unconsciousness, and he slightly pressed against Optimus' hand, "R-release Thundercracker….and I'll tell you…"

The seeker's tone was far from bargaining, and his wings were quietly shaking as a form of fear, though more for his friend than for himself.

Optimus sighed and thought over Starscream's terms for a moment, it really wasn't much of a sacrifice to release the blue seeker, but once he was gone there was no guarantee that Starscream would cooperate.

"How about this, after you've received the medical attention you need we'll release the both of you in exchange for Skyfire. I'm sure that that's a fair deal, after all, from my understanding you and Skyfire were once friends. You must be worried about him." He offered in a friendly manner, trying to delve into the seeker's thoughts. Starscream merely sighed softly, "Megatron h-has probably k-killed him by n-now…." He told Optimus bleakly, resigning to his formerly detached state of mind and looking at the floor again. The Autobot leader knew that what he had said was an extremely likely possibility, but then again Megatron was no fool, surely he wouldn't have killed Skyfire knowing that the Autobots had two of his elite seeker trine captured.

"I doubt that Megatron has killed him, and if it will console you then I'll find out whether Skyfire is alright or not. However, you need to answer my question from before."

Starscream laughed dryly, the wildfire running through his systems being more than he wanted to deal with. "You want to k-know how much it h-hurts?" He asked as he looked back up into the Autobot leader's optics, "Kill me!"

And that was it. After those two words Starscream lost consciousness, falling into stasis silently and leaving his audience more than surprised.

Thundercracker stopped pacing and stared at his wingmate, fearing that he had gone offline because of the energy he had to use while talking. He was slightly relieved when Ratchet knelt down and examined him, "Well, he's gone into stasis, which means that now I can do this," The medic lifted a four-studded syringe into the other's line of sight, revealing a strange blue liquid inside the vile attached to it.

Thundercracker panicked, "Wh-what the hell do you think you're doing with that!?" He shrieked in absolute dismay, watching on in horror as Ratchet slid the needles into Starscream's neck cables and injected the liquid.

Once he was done he detached the needles and threw the empty vile between the bars and into Thundercracker's hands.

"I think that I just injected him with a serum that will keep him comfortably in stasis lock until I have him fully repaired." The medic informed the blue seeker with slight annoyance, but a hint of understanding as well.

Jazz smiled at the seeker, "Yeah, don't get your codpiece in a bunch man, Ratchet knows what he's doin'." He offered smoothly, earning a nod of appreciation from the medic and an offended glare from Thundercracker.

Prowl elbowed his bondmate in the midsection and shot him a warning glance, though it wasn't because he was angry with him, Jazz knew that Prowl had an inward sense of humor that was threatening to make him laugh. And so he merely smiled and kept quiet.

Optimus gently picked Starscream up off the floor, lifting him into his arms as carefully as he possibly could and admiring the beautifully limp form. No wonder Skyfire was so attracted to him, he was stunning, even when beaten to the point of barely being recognizable. With his thoughts running rampant in his processor, Optimus took the small seeker to the med-bay.

* * *

Reviews are greatly appreciated! ^w^


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch.6**

Megatron lay on his berth staring at the dark ceiling, the ocean outside of his quarters illuminating the large room with an eerie blue-black light. The atmosphere did nothing to help his ailing mood, if anything it merely worsened it. The soft flowing motions against the large viewing windows being the only things to placate his anger at the current situation. He was greatly frustrated at having two of his elite seekers commandeered by the Autobots, taken as prisoners of war by any other name. Though Thundercracker was a great loss in himself, Starscream was an even greater loss. Without the Air Commander all of the other seekers were falling into a disoriented mess of chaos and disarray, fighting one another for the rank that he had left behind. The RJ-class seekers had even gone as far as trying to offline Skywarp—who was completely defenseless thanks to losing his mind—just to make sure that he couldn't take the position for himself, not that he could anyways.

He had Hook keep the dark seeker under constant surveillance, and also had all repair privileges taken away from the coneheads for a week.

The tyrant shamelessly allowed a saddened sigh to escape his lips, he had never noticed it before, but without Starscream his life wasn't worth living. The fiery young seeker had been the only one who wasn't afraid to stand up to him, who went against his orders fearlessly, who talked back and broke the rules, who made life interesting…

How he missed the seeker, words nor emotions could explain the hole in his spark at the thought of never seeing him again. That fearless, annoying, wild, and utterly captivating seeker.

He idly pondered Starscream's age, wondering if the fact that he was attracted to the seeker for more than obvious reasons technically made him a pedophile. _By Earth standards perhaps_, He thought to himself, but quickly cast the notion aside. On Cybertron there weren't exclusionary limits to the age a mech had to be before bonding. In fact, in Vos it was common practice to "promise" one's child to another of wealth and power, often resulting in a youngling bonding to a fully grown mech, either that or being forced to bond to them when they matured, depending on their chosen mate's preferences.

_Luckily Starscream can still be claimed _he mused almost happily, though once again his spark began hurting at the thought of never seeing the seeker again.

The comm. to his room beeped suddenly and Soundwave's monotonous voice echoed through his large quarters, "Lord Megatron. Optimus Prime wishes to speak with you via video conference." He informed his leader, cutting the link immediately and hoping that his illustrious leader wouldn't have him slagged for interrupting his daydreaming.

Megatron jumped from the berth and ran to the double-doors of his room, barely having the patience to await them to hiss open before he sprinted past a slightly surprised Soundwave. The navy mech quickly followed his leader.

Once they reached the command room Megatron allowed the screen to switch on, revealing Optimus Prime awaiting to speak with him.

"I want him back!" Megatron growled without thinking, red optics narrowed at his nemesis in pure hatred and anger.

Optimus was only slightly taken aback at the ferocity in Megatron's voice, but remained composed and calm. "Don't you mean them?" He asked, reminding the Decepticon leader that Thundercracker was also captured.

The silver tyrant only narrowed his optics that much more, "I want my seekers back Prime! And I suppose that you want your pathetic excuse for a warrior back as well. I'll settle for a trade and nothing more." He warned in finalization, he refused to be bargained with on the terms he had set for the exchange.

Optimus nodded, mulling over the offer, and though he knew that when Megatron was involved in these kind of things it was more than a fair offer, he wasn't beyond trying to draw the silver mech into another deal as well. "Well Megatron, I'm afraid that's not exactly a fair trade. You see, we have two of your soldiers, and you have only one of mine." The Autobot leader allowed a more cruel side of himself to show, purposefully drawing Megatron into a "trap" of sorts. If he could get the despot to perhaps relinquish a few of his weapons of mass destruction _and _Skyfire then it would be an exponential gain for the Autobots. However, Megatron seemed less than pleased at the idea.

"Don't play me as a fool Prime! I'll give you nothing but your scientist, and if that's not enough then I'll simply dispose of him and leave you with nothing. Either way I will get my seekers back, and you know it!" Megatron spat, fists clenching in anger.

Optimus took the threat seriously, he had learned from past experiences that Megatron didn't bluff when it came to killing mechs during prisoner exchanges gone bad. He had lost many fine soldiers to the tyrant's fusion cannon. "Alright, we'll give you Thundercracker in exchange for Skyfire." He told the infuriated warlord calmly, knowing that the mech would catch onto the fact that his Second In Command wasn't included in that statement.

Megatron growled, "And what about Starscream?"

The Autobot leader sighed a bit in frustration, "Starscream is in stasis…My medic, Ratchet, is in the process of repairing him. Once he is fully functional then I'll send him to you as well, however, until then he is to remain here where we can closely monitor his health." The red and blue mech explained with a sense of privilege at being able to withhold one of Megatron's finest warriors from him. Surely his army was suffering from the loss of such a high ranking officer, and a warrior as skilled and deadly as Starscream was.

Megatron's dark gaze didn't waver for even a moment and the silver mech glared daggers at Optimus. "Send him with Thundercracker, my medic is more than capable of repairing him!" He protested, defying what Optimus had initially thought was a good suggestion. The Autobot leader sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm afraid that's not possible Megatron. Starscream is in far too bad of a condition to be transported, the majority of his injuries are life-threatening and if not attended to immediately he'll die." There, he had thoroughly explained himself, now there was no need for anymore opposition. Megatron, though completely cold-sparked, wasn't an idiot. He wouldn't take a chance on losing a valuable soldier over an argument with his enemy.

Thankfully, the Decepticon warlord seemed to agree with that train of thought. If Starscream's life was on the line then he wouldn't jeopardize the seeker's health because he simply wanted him back. "Alright…" He said after a moment of thought, "Send Thundercracker back and I'll release your scientist. Though I warn you, whenever I do get Starscream back if there is so much as a single scratch on his helm I will mercilessly slaughter all of you the next time we meet in battle!" Megatron growled in finalization.

Optimus nodded slightly. "The exchange will take place at 12:00 noon tomorrow. We'll have Thundercracker."

"And I'll have your scientist."

--

Ratchet worked meticulously as he pieced together Starscream's canopy, having found some extra glass he tinted and finished it off with a nice strengthener before patching it onto the seeker's chest. He had already taken care of all the minor injuries like cuts and bruises, scorch marks as well. Next was the wings.

Ratchet sighed and rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking of how to move the unconscious seeker without damaging his spinal relays any further.

He quickly comm.'d Jazz. //::What's up Ratchet?::// Greeted the saboteur in his usual friendly manner.

//::Jazz, do you think you could bring that other seeker to the med bay?::// He asked with no sense of uncertainty in his voice. Jazz didn't answer for a moment.

//::Well….are ya sure Ratch? I mean, he doesn't exactly look like he'll be as calm as Starscream y'know?:://

//::Trust me I thought of that, but I'm going to need him to fix Starscream's wings, seekers have experience around one another and I don't want to take a chance on screwing something up! Did Optimus tell you what Megatron said happens if there's a single scratch on his helm?::// The medic questioned in a less-than concerned tone as he concentrated on sealing the glass.

Jazz shuttered over the comm. //::Yeah the whole mercilessly slaughtering us all thing. Sounds like something he would say! Ole Megs loves to strike fear into our sparks huh?::// He laughed coolly, //::I'll have to keep Prowl from wetting himself tonight just at the thought of it!:://

Ratchet harrumphed at the Porsche's use of sarcasm, not finding the situation the least bit funny, however, he couldn't resist a slight chuckle. You could always count on Jazz to try and lighten the mood of a gloomy situation.

//::Anyways. How about clearing it with Optimus about getting that other seeker in here. I could really use some help on his wings, and the little fragger keeps wanting to die on me! I've had to stabilize him over seven times in the past five breems!::// The medic seethed as he gave the unconscious seeker a glare. He felt slight pity for what Hook had to go through with him, the Decepticon medic was probably the only one in his faction who was praying to Primus that Megatron didn't get Starscream back. Now, Ratchet could understand why.

//::I guess I could clear it with Optimus, as long as the seeker doesn't try anything.::// Jazz agreed with a cheery tone to his smooth voice. He quickly cut the comm. and Ratchet could only assume that he was on his Optimus' office. Hopefully the other seeker would be in the med-bay rather soon, because judging the looks of Starscream's wings turned out a rather dim prognosis on the seeker's recovery.

He continued with the task of sealing Starscream's canopy for as long as possible, drawing out the procedure for an unnecessarily long amount of time because he could do no more until Thundercracker arrived. _If _Thundercracker arrived.

--

Jazz and Ironhide quickly made their ways down to the holding cells, having already reached the brig it didn't take long before they could hear curses and growling coming from one of the cells.

Jazz smiled at the fowl language, "Ah! I love the sound of angry 'Con in the morning!" He said, flashing the smile in Ironhide's direction though the older mech merely grumbled.

They finally reached the right cell and were surprised to see Thundercracker rhythmically banging his head against the wall. With each head-butt came multiple curse words, including the likes of damn, shit, and on more than one occasion, fuck.

Jazz and Ironhide exchanged glances before making their presence known, "How ya' doin' today Thundercracker? Is it alright if I call you TC?" Jazz smiled as he daringly reached his hand through the bars and meant for the blue seeker to shake it.

Thundercracker stopped hitting his head against the wall, turning slowly to glare at the saboteur. "I suggest you take your hand back before I rip it off and use it to choke you!" He growled in a bad mood, wings drooped to an unnaturally low level for seekers. Jazz did as suggested and laughed a bit nervously, "Uh, 'Hide, maybe you would have better luck talkin' to him…" He offered sheepishly.

Ironhide grunted and moved to the bars with a sigh, "Alright Decepticreep, ah'm gonna give ya one chance to git out of this cell and git yer sorry aft to the med-bay! Yer friend has already died several times according to Ratchet, an' he needs ya to be there in order to fix his wings up fer the funeral or somethin' like that…" The red mech said in disinterest, though he somehow managed to fit anger into his tone. Thundercracker's expression went from angry to absolutely horrified, his face a mask of terror, "Funeral?!" He screeched, "Starscream's dead?!"

Jazz quickly held his hands up in a calming manner, "No! Starscream ain't dead man! He's still in stasis! That's why we need your help, we need you to help Ratchet fix him up!" The Porsche informed him as he nearly hyperventilated. Thundercracker was still slightly shaking when he allowed the saboteur's words to sink in, they needed his help? But why? Oh yeah, Starscream's wings. Thundercracker had ample experience on repairing his trine mate's injuries, especially his wings, seeing as how nine times out of ten Megatron would try and rip them off. He sighed in relief that his young friend hadn't offlined like what Ironhide had implied.

"I suppose you'll want to escort me out of here in chains huh?" He questioned, holding his wrists forward and awaiting one of the Autobots to snap some handcuffs on him or something of the sort. However, both of them gave him a strange look before exchanging glances.

"Actually, we were thinking more along the lines of you coming peacefully." Jazz smiled with a shrug, typing in the access code to take down the brightly glowing energy bars.

Thundercracker fanned his wings outward momentarily, popping some stiff joints before exiting the cell and standing in front of the two Autobot officers, "Take me to the med-bay please." He said politely, not wanting to have his 'privilege' of being able to walk around freely taken away. After all, Starscream needed him.

--

Ratchet looked up as the med-bay doors opened with a dull hiss, revealing three mechs coming into the large area. Thundercracker was considerably taller and stronger than both Jazz and Ironhide, not to mention he cast a slightly menacing tone to the room as he looked around and set his optics on the medic.

_Great_, Ratchet thought to himself as he motioned for the seeker to come over, _I'm gonna be stuck working with the one seeker in Starscream's trine that I'm actually afraid of! Why couldn't it be that idiot Skywarp instead? At least he's easy to get along with!_

Thundercracker stalked over carefully, taking note of the limp form stretched out on the examining table. Starscream's canopy had been completely repaired, and all of the minor cuts that were afflicting him were now gone, healed by the medic's expertise. The blue seeker had to admit that Ratchet did a rather good job, and in far less time than it would have taken Hook. He extended a hand to gently rub Starscream's forehead, "My poor friend. What have you ever done to deserve this…." He pondered aloud, causing Ratchet to sigh a bit sadly. The medic hated to see anyone suffering, and hated even more to see their friend's and loved one's suffering as well, it was something he had grown accustomed to though, and in times of war it couldn't be helped.

Jazz patted Thundercracker's shoulder in a friendly manner, "He'll be alright man! 'Screamer's always been able to bounce back from severe damage, I should know!" He smiled.

Thundercracker had a confused look on his face, "How do you know?" He asked curiously, wondering what the Porsche was talking about.

Jazz smirked deviously, "Oh that's right! You were on a mission when that happened….Anyways, I had been sent into the Nemesis on an important mission to retrieve some data that Soundwave had managed to extract from Teletran-1, well while I was there, I ended up being discovered….by Soundwave…..needless to say Megatron wasn't too happy that I had managed to get in and so he commenced his usual insult-throwing and going trigger-happy with the fusion cannon! Well, I would've been a dead mech if it hadn't been for Starscream grabbing my arm and running, the crazy little fragger nearly dragged me halfway across the Nemesis before he pushed me toward an escape hatch. Of course I didn't get out in time to avoid seeing the poor guy get beaten to within an inch of his life by Megatron! I thought he was dead for sure, but then three days later, up popped 'Screamer on the battlefield! I was so happy I almost wanted to hug him, if he wouldn't have killed me for it!" Jazz explained vividly, smiling the entire time as he made wild hand gestures to capture the essence of the entire experience. Thundercracker could only stare wide-eyed at the mech, surprised both by how friendly he was and the fact that Starscream had helped him. Maybe he was an…okay Autobot.

Ironhide barked out a laugh and slapped Jazz across the back, "Killed ya? Ha, he'd probably've ripped yer spark out and gave it to Ravage as a cat-toy! That little glitch is meaner than a castrated pit-bull stuck in a hole full of rattle snakes! After all, he's given Megatron his fair share of beatings too!" The red bot reminded his friend, earning a smile and nod from all mechs in the room.

Ironhide then frowned, all joking set aside, "Why does he try to one-up ole Megs so much in the first place? I mean, he swore an oath of loyalty didn't he, so why would he try an' kill his own leader?" He asked Thundercracker, knowing that Ratchet and Jazz probably wanted to know as well, and the blue seeker was most likely to have an answer. Truthfully, every Autobot wanted to know why Starscream was so intent on overthrowing Megatron, many rumors had spread around of abuse, harsh feelings after a one-night stand, and the most common being that Starscream was generally insane and targeted Megatron simply because he was the mech in power. It was what Perceptor insisted was the Napoleon Complex, because of Starscream's small stature and femme-like appearance he acted overly aggressive to preserve both his dignity and rank by challenging someone far more powerful than himself. Apparently, it was very common among height-impaired humans.

Thundercracker sighed in a depressed state and he slumped his shoulder's in frustration. "Starscream doesn't try to _kill _Megatron really…He just challenges him, it's his way of coping with the fact that Megatron treats him like a sparkling and never uses his advice. Starscream would never dream of offlining Megatron, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he did…" The strange part was that even Thundercracker was unsure as to why Starscream only intended to injure Megatron and not just kill him and get it over with. Then again, it's not like Starscream really could kill Megatron, the warlord was much more powerful and more experienced than him. Despite his trine mate's fiery attitude and stubbornness, he knew that there was no way he would be able to carry on if he ever _did _manage to kill his leader, it would break Starscream's spark.

Ironhide and Jazz took in the information with both excitement and slight disappointment. Well, that meant that none of their rumors had really been true, except for Optimus' conclusion which was remarkably similar to what Thundercracker had just explained. Oh well, Prime never went in on the betting pool so that meant the next bot with the closest answer was—of all mechs—Grimlock. This made both of the Autobots shudder, "Well, there goes mah favorite cannon." Ironhide sniffed, Jazz nodded and face palmed, "An' all my MC-Hammer CD's!"

Thundercracker couldn't repress a smirk at that, and turned to Ratchet with a raised optic ridge, "What did you lose?" He asked in complacency, Ratchet merely shrugged, "An old invention that Wheeljack gave me, so really it's Grimlock's loss and my gain." He smiled darkly as he looked to his comrades. "Alright you two, scram! We've still got work to do in here! And tell Prime he should pay us a visit at some point today, I've been needing to talk to him." The medic told them, scurrying over and pushing both of them out of the room, paying no heed to their protests. Jazz waved to Thundercracker before Ratchet practically threw him out the door. The blue seeker smiled slightly, he actually kind of liked the Autobots, they weren't at all like he had imagined they would be.

When the other two had gone Ratchet turned to Thundercracker and eyed him for a moment, "You'd best not try anything Decepticon! If you even move him the wrong way then he's a goner!" The medic explained with a vicious air as he waggled his finger in Thundercracker's face, "No escape efforts!"

The blue seeker nodded compliantly, his focus now on Starscream. "No escape efforts…I promise."

Ratchet smiled, "Well then, let's get to work. I need you to flip him over onto his stomach as carefully as possible so that I can begin work on his spinal relays, and once that's finished then you can start on his wings." He made his way over to the unconscious seeker and checked his vitals before allowing Thundercracker to gently pick him up and deposit him once more into a prone position on the examining table. Ratchet could tell that Thundercracker had done similar things for Starscream many times before, but that it no less pained him to have to see his friend in such a state.

Once he was situated the right way and Ratchet had once again checked his vitals to make sure he was stable, he picked up a different number of painful looking tools and set them beside the examining table. He then set to work with an energo-scalpel, making an incision along the length of Starscream's outer armor and popping it off. With the heavier battle armor removed the seeker's normal metal armoring was exposed, much smoother and softer than what was normally there. Once again Ratchet made an incision along Starscream's back, peeling aside his primary armor to reveal delicate wires and a snapped metal column that was sparking and bleeding out energon painfully. The medic gasped suddenly, staring down at the horrible injury in surprise, "It's a lot worse than I thought it would be…" He sighed sadly, sneaking a peek at Thundercracker who looked absolutely terrified, he also looked as if he were about to purge his tanks at the sight.

"Kid, if you think you're going to hurl I'm gonna need you to turn away from your friend here, the last thing he needs is that!" The medic warned.

Thundercracker composed himself, looking away from Starscream's injuries for a moment as Ratchet plucked a few fried wires and set them aside on the table. "I-I'll be fine in a minute…It's just, no matter how bad Megatron beats him, it's never been this severe. I've never seen him with injuries quite like this. I mean a few cuts and bruises sure, sometimes his wings would be missing, but that was it. Just, please tell me you'll be able to save him, and that he won't be paralyzed or anything like that!" He nearly begged for his friend's safety in the matter, prayed to Primus that Ratchet wouldn't make a mistake, and then took a deep breath and turned back.

"What would you like me to do?" He asked with a worried smirk, Ratchet merely smiled, "Right now, stop worrying so much and have a little faith in me kid! After all, this isn't the first time that I've operated on Screamer."

Thundercracker paused.

--

Optimus looked up from the data pad he was reading as two mechs entered the room, both of which were laughing raucously.

Jazz and Ironhide came striding in without so much as a knock on their leader's office door, still laughing from the remnants of a joke that Cliffjumper had told them in the halls. Oh well, Optimus never minded anyways.

"Ironhide, Jazz, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Optimus asked happily, his calm voice echoing slightly around the large room as he regarded his friends.

Both mechs smiled in acknowledgement and Jazz waved, "Hey Optimus, Ratchet just wanted us to stop by and tell you to go to the med-bay later. We dunno why, but he's got his reasons I guess!" The saboteur informed him friendlily, expecting his leader to simply nod and go back to work. However, he was surprised when Optimus remained looking at them, his previous relaxed stance a bit tense now. "Did something go wrong with the seeker?" He asked worriedly.

Ironhide interrupted what Jazz was about to say as he threw his hands up in the air, "O'course Prime! The seeker died on the operatin' table and that's why Ratchet wants to see ya! No, nothin' went wrong with him, he's just fine. His friend's in there helpin' him an' everything." The red mech said a bit irately, though his joking smile gave away that he wasn't angry at his leader's question.

Optimus sat back in his chair in well-hidden relief and propped his elbows on his desk, "Well, that's good to hear. The other seeker, he's not giving anyone any problems is he?"

Jazz shook his head, "Nah, Thundercracker's thoughts are only about Starscream right now, you know how seekers are, they worry about their trine before they worry about anything else." Skyfire had once explained that to him when Jazz had witnessed Starscream nearly sacrificing himself to save both Thundercracker and Skywarp from the Lambo twin's "Jet-Judo" move. In the end all three seekers had been tackled at least five times. The twins didn't stop bragging for vorns.

The Autobot leader thought for a moment, of course Thundercracker wouldn't try anything with Starscream in such bad condition. But then again there was always the possibility that the seeker's rationality would give way in an attempt to protect his friend should he feel threatened. That was a chance that Optimus wasn't willing to take, as soon as Starscream was fully repaired Thundercracker would be put back in his cell until the trade was to take place. However, this brought with it another problem. When Thundercracker saw that Starscream would not be transported with him would that mean he'd fight? It was very likely, but then again Megatron had agreed to the terms so he could just order his seeker to stand down. Or would Megatron try something like an ambush and take Starscream back as the trade was commencing. Optimus knew one thing for sure, the red seeker couldn't be moved until he was fully recovered, and he would _not _let anything happen to Starscream, why this was the Autobot leader didn't have a clue. He felt a processor-ache moving in and waved his hand dismissively at his friends. "Very well then. I'll go to the med-bay later and hopefully by then the repairs will be finished. I'll be in touch with you two seeing as how Thundercracker will have to be escorted back to his cell." He hated to rush them away but there was still work to be done and his mind was buzzing with thoughts of the Decepticon Second-In-Command laying in his med-bay. How had everything turned so stressful all of a sudden? Then again since when had everything not been stressful? Oh well, war was war.

Jazz and Ironhide nodded at their leader and turned to leave, elbowing one another as they remembered jokes to tell the others once they got to the rec. room.

When the doors shut to his office, Optimus sighed and picked up the data pad he had been working on earlier. He would go to the med-bay later and no doubt be greeted by an annoyed and exhausted medic, but he would also be able to see the red seeker again. "Well," He sighed, "At least I have something to look forward today…"


	7. Chapter 7

X3 okay, so this is chapter seven, yay me! I've never written this many chapters for a fic before, and I never expected to have such positive reviews and such loving and loyal readers! Oh my darling fans how I appreciate you so!!!

*cough cough* Anyways, I've gotten some messages about if there will be smutty parts, and the answer is yes but later on in the chapters. Also I've had people wondering about the pairings, yes this is a MxSS fic, but to add interest I'm temporarily pairing our beloved little seeker with Optimus Prime to make Megatron an angry, well angrier, mech! Mwahahahahahaha there is no limit to my lemon-ness!

Also in regards to how many chapters there will be, I have no idea, I'll keep writing until I come up with a suitable ending or until my computer explodes….or spontaneously combusts….lol wow I hope that doesn't happen O.O

Grimmy my dear friend and most loyal reviewer I send you an internets hug! You has my thankies and eternal love ^w^

………………………………................................................................................................

**Ch.7**

Ratchet wiped the energon off of his hands with a nearby cloth, observing his handiwork on the newly repaired seeker. Well, Starscream looked like he had before he had ever been in battle, and now all that could be done was wait for him to recover. There was no telling how long that would take, it all depended on how well Starscream's body took to the repairs.

Thundercracker also wiped his hands clean of his friend's energon, standing away from him so as not to accidentally mess anything up. He was experienced with fixing his trine leader, but not under these circumstances. And besides, the medic was extremely picky about what he did around his "patient."

The blue seeker stared at the red and white mech for a moment, he seemed oddly familiar. Well, of course he would seem familiar, how many times had Thundercracker tried to kill him on the battlefield? He didn't want to count, it would probably take a few years anyways. He couldn't help but think back to what Ratchet had said earlier, he had repaired Starscream before….but how? Starscream had never been captured before now.

Thundercracker looked to the medic in thought, why did he look so familiar? The familiarity went beyond battle, but was unrecognized as something before the war. He must have known the medic before he was a Decepticon, there was no other explanation to it, but most of his pre-Decepticon years were spent as an adolescent. He, Skywarp and Starscream had all been in Vos…Wait! That may have been it! The bombing of Vos, after it had happened there were massive rescue attempts by neutral medics, perhaps that was why Ratchet seemed so familiar.

"If you don't mind me asking…Were you at all involved in the rescue attempts after the Vos bombing?" He inquired, thinking that Ratchet would say no, he was probably already an Autobot when that had happened. Ratchet looked away from his patient and eyed Thundercracker for a moment, pondering on whether or not to answer the seeker's question.

"Actually, I was." He admitted, "I had just finished my apprenticeship with an older medic when the bombing took place. I was working at a hospital in Praxus, and my crew and I were sent to the aftermath to try and rescue any younglings who had survived." Ratchet explained a bit morosely, remembering the grim outlook of the situation when he had first encountered it.

Thundercracker's wings perked up, so the medic _had _been there.

"When my team arrived we set up an emergency tent for those who were the most severely injured, that's how I know your trine, well, you three weren't a trine yet. You and Skywarp were adolescents when you arrived, but you had Starscream with you and he was still a youngling."

"That's it! That's why you seem so familiar, you were the medic that I handed Starscream to after the attack. I remember that now. He was pretty badly hurt and me and Skywarp didn't want to leave him with strangers, but you were the one who talked us into leaving him with you so that we could go and get help too. I knew that you seemed familiar for a reason—besides the fact that I've tried to kill you on more than one occasion…But after we got Starscream back, me and 'Warp never saw you again, so we never really got to thank you for saving his life and all….exactly how bad hurt was he?" Thundercracker was intrigued now, he was eager to hear about things of his and his trine's past, seeing as how they never normally had time to think back on it.

Ratchet shrugged, "Well, he was really young when the bombing happened, and seeing as how he was caught in a burning building he had severe damage to his servos and thrusters because he had been running and trying to push his way out to escape the inferno. His wings were scorched, he had minor cuts from shrapnel, and he had some internal damage. But the main thing that I had trouble with him was that he was in an extreme state of shock, he wouldn't talk, he was unfocused, he wouldn't drink anything, and he was shaking a lot. After I was able to repair him he started to become less frightened, but even then he wouldn't respond to me, and when he finally started talking he would only repeat the same question over and over again, "are Thunder and 'Warp okay?" twenty-four seven, all the time! It got to the point where I thought his processor had been damaged. Finally, he snapped out of it, he became sort of attached to me for a few days, wouldn't let anyone else near him…I thought it was cute because with all my years of working with younglings I had never had one follow me around, and Starscream was barely out of his sparkling years then. But, all too soon I had to be sent to another sector, and so I left him with the other medics who weren't being moved…I wanted to stay and make sure that he made it back to you and Skywarp safely, but I couldn't, and so I just hoped for the best…" He told the blue seeker in remembrance, reminiscing about the times he had been able to help people without being asked of factions. "I was pretty happy to see the three of you together when I first saw you as a trine with the Decepticons. Even though I was slightly disappointed at the faction you chose…"

Thundercracker, though encouraged to accept the medic because of his story, wasn't completely enthralled with what he had told him. He was grateful that Ratchet had saved Starscream when he was a youngling, and he knew had he not then Starscream probably wouldn't be here right now. And here he was, saving his life a second time, though he would've been saved by Hook just as well as any Autobot medic.

"If the Autobots had bombed your home, wouldn't you have joined the Decepticons as well?" Thundercracker asked, his face a mask of sorrow and anger.

Ratchet sighed and looked away from him, back to the sleeping form of Starscream. "Perhaps you're right…However—"

The medic was cut short as Optimus Prime entered the room, looking the very picture of regality and composure, drawing both mech's attention immediately. The Autobot leader walked calmly over to the two conversing mechs, nodding in greeting to them as calmly as ever. He looked almost surreal to Thundercracker, the seeker having only seen him on the battlefield for the majority of the war. But here, he was so…unnaturally calm, just calm, not angry, edgy, irritated, nothing…just plain, flat out, almost overwhelmingly calm.

The blue seeker shifted uncomfortably, wings lowering in a slight show of both respect and fear of the Autobot leader. He didn't know why, but for some reason the mech was making him extremely nervous, as if he was the bringer of bad news, but he pushed it to the back of his processor, choosing not to think too much of it. After all, there wasn't anything bad about Optimus Prime right?

The noble mech stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking to his medic with that same serene gaze he had entered with, "How is he?" He asked, wanting information on Ratchet's current patient. The medic shrugged and worked the kinks from his neck, "Well, the operation went well all in all, Thundercracker was a big help, and Starscream should be fine within a few weeks. Though it may be more than a few days before he wakes up he should gain consciousness without feeling any pain, but he won't be able to stay awake long until after about two weeks…It's something that's very common when mechs are injured to that degree." He explained, bordering on a rant that Thundercracker didn't really want to hear and Optimus was quick to stop. "That's good…So when will he be ready to be transported back to the Decepticons?" The Autobot leader asked hesitantly, not really wanting to bring the question up, nor did he want to see the seeker go.

Ratchet sighed and rubbed his chin in thought, trying to estimate the amount of time that he felt would be sufficient for Starscream to heal. Of course he had to factor a few things in—a seeker's normal healing time, the wings, the time it would take for his internal repair systems to assess the repairs already done, and the fact that he had been in such a state in the first place. "Well, I'd say he'll be ready to release in about a month or two, maybe less…" Ratchet told him as he continued contemplating the statistics of the situation.

Optimus nodded, "Very well, tell me when you think that he'll wake up so that I can be here, I want him to know that he'll be safe with us when Thundercracker is gone." He explained to his medic, passing a glance at the still form on the operating table before he turned to make his way to the exit.

"What do you mean when I'm gone?" Thundercracker suddenly asked, confused and more than a little frightened at the prospect. Did he mean gone as in dead or gone as in locked away? He soon found an answer as the mech turned back to him and sighed, "Tomorrow you are being sent back to the Decepticons in exchange for Skyfire." Optimus said plainly as he stood facing the blue seeker, no visible emotion in his optics.

Thundercracker froze, "Wh-what?! I'm not leaving without Starscream! Especially if you're going to let the maniac that did this to him back in the base!" He yelled, wings pointed straight back in anger and teeth bared menacingly. Optimus merely looked at him, not threatened in the least, "We will take good care of Starscream, and I won't allow Skyfire near him if that will console you Thundercracker, I don't want him to get hurt anymore than you do." He tried explaining to the irate and protective seeker, though it didn't seem as if words were going to ease the situation. Thundercracker only looked angrier at what had been said, "What do you care Autobot? If Starscream went offline right now you wouldn't lose a night's recharge over it! While I on the other hand wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I could've helped him but was sent away by you!" He screeched, stepping towards the operating table a bit dangerously. Ratchet picked up a wrench from his various tools and pointed it at the seeker with a grimace, "Alright kid that's enough! You aren't going to have help him anymore 'cause we've already fixed him up, and believe me as soon as he's fit enough to go and continue getting the slag beat out of him then I'll send him on his way, do you think I want to hear his whining when he wakes up? Well the answer is no, and it doesn't matter if Prime would lose any recharge over it or not because _I _would, and that's why I won't let anything happen! Now vamoose before I put you in the same position as him!" He threatened darkly, waving the wrench in front of Thundercracker's nose. The blue seeker hated to admit that he was intimidated by the medic, but he knew that Ratchet wasn't kidding when he said those things. Still, he didn't want to leave his friend, he didn't want to take a chance on his trine leader being hurt…but he knew that he could trust Ratchet, after al the mech had been good to him so far.

He lowered his wings sorrowfully, gaze falling to the floor in slight shame, "You're right…" Thundercracker admitted quietly. He walked over to the operating table and gently stroked Starscream's cheek, "You'll contact the Nemesis if anything happens to him right?", Ratchet nodded "Of course, you'll be the first to know if something goes wrong Thundercracker, and then you can come back here to check on him if Megatron allows you. It's not my place to try and separate a seeker trine, I know how important you are to one another." The medic said with a soft smile, he would never try and keep the trine apart, especially with Starscream being so vulnerable at the time. Ratchet knew that one of the factors of Thundercracker's worry was the scarlet seeker's age, he knew how young Starscream was, and he also knew that Thundercracker was used to protecting him because of it.

Optimus watched as Thundercracker sighed, his stance pained because of the fact that he would have to leave his friend. He didn't like the fact that he had to make the seeker leave, but he had to get his soldier back. There was nothing he could do about the situation, Starscream would have to be left where he was because of his injuries, but then again even if he wasn't injured Optimus wasn't so sure that he'd let him go anyways. He had some kind of strange fascination with the attractive mech, it was probably a simple form of curiosity, nothing too serious. The Autobot commander allowed himself to admire the small seeker unabashedly, staring at him like he'd seen an angel. Starscream was beautiful, he didn't doubt that, but then again he felt wrong for thinking it, the seeker was a Decepticon, the supposed enemy that he had a duty to protect the Earth from. And he was Second In Command at that, an extremely high ranking officer, next in line to Megatron. There was no telling how much the tyrant had influenced him…

Another sigh escaped the blue seeker as he looked at his friend one last time, tomorrow he wouldn't see him, he would be sent back without him. What would Starscream think when he woke up, would he think that he'd been abandoned? Would he be scared or angry? Would he do something drastic and try to escape? There were so many possibilities, and with Starscream being so unpredictable there was no telling, trying to pinpoint his exact actions would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, impossible.

He turned away from his trinemate and looked to the ground, not daring to look the Autobot leader in the optics. "You can take me to my cell now…."

Optimus nodded, gesturing for Thundercracker to head out of the med bay, the blue seeker complied obediently and walked past him, waving to Ratchet before exiting.

"I hope he'll be alright…" The medic shook his head as he watched Thundercracker leave, Optimus sighed in frustration, "As do I, but it can't be helped Ratchet, this is a war after all." And with that he walked from the med bay to make sure that Thundercracker reached his cell without any complications.

When he had gone Ratchet began sifting through some datapads, checking over the health records that he had been able to obtain from Hook after Sideswipe managed to hack into the Nemesis' computer. It had been a simple prank on the red twin's part but ended being a major help to the Autobots. "Poor kid…it's gonna be a shame to have to send him back." The medic said to himself, observing the many reports of Starscream being to sent to the med bay by Megatron, he just didn't understand how a commander could hurt his own men. He took note of the most common injuries that Hook had documented over the countless vorns of taking care of the young seeker, torn off wings, bruised neck cables, crushed vocal cords, abdominal injuries, spinal relay injuries, crushed hydraulics, numerous cases of broken energon lines, broken limbs, the list went on and on and Ratchet almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. How did Starscream put it up with it? Why hadn't he defected instead of remaining with the Decepticons and having Megatron beat him? It didn't make any sense. And why did Megatron hurt Starscream so much, after all, most of the failures on the battlefield were due to the warlord's own lack of control. Why would Megatron blame Starscream?

These thoughts all brought up Megatron and Optimus' conversation from earlier. When Optimus had contacted the Decepticon leader about the trade Megatron only seemed to care about retrieving Starscream, he didn't even register the fact that Thundercracker had been captured as well. And the way he had threatened everyone's lives if Starscream was returned with so much as a scratch was strange as well. Did he want the seeker back so that he continue abusing him, or was it something else….Ratchet looked over at Starscream for a moment, Jazz had told him that when the seeker had been attacked by Skyfire that he had begged Megatron for help, and that the Decepticon warlord had completely abandoned his battle with Optimus to save his seeker. That didn't sound like something that Megatron would do, in fact it sounded as if it were the complete opposite of something that Megatron would do! Perhaps the Decepticon leader…liked Starscream…

Ratchet couldn't help but shake his head in absolute horror, what kind of mech showed affection through beating the hell out of someone?

And yet…No matter how many beatings he was put through Starscream had always stayed with the Decepticons…that had to mean something too. What if Starscream liked Megatron as well. Ratchet vented in confusion, so Megatron showed affection through violence and Starscream showed affection through challenges and submission. What a strange couple…

But then again he could be wrong about the whole thing, which he really hoped he was. Primus forbid that Starscream actually had a crush on his leader when all the mech did was hurt him!

The medic sighed and went to sit at his desk, propping his feet up and leaning back in his chair with a tired groan. His processor was aching and all of joints were protesting from the day's work. It had been a long time since he had had to operate on someone in that severe of a condition, and what surprised him the most was that it was Skyfire who had done it. An Autobot, and one of Starscream's previous friends. Ratchet sat the medical reports down and put his hand behind his head, trying to relax and push all of the buzzing thoughts from his mind, he would have to worry about all this when Starscream woke up. Then he could find out exactly why the seeker stayed with Megatron instead of defecting…

………………………………................................................................................................

Reviews are appreciated, and if you don't feel like reviewing then that's okay I guess, I'll just cry myself to sleep every night and ask Primus why you don't love me T.T

Not really.

Nya! Review or I'll turn into a strawberry cake and lure Skywarp into a sharkticon pit where he will be eated!!!!

Mwahahahahahaha I has diabolical mood swings, owie and teh cramps, *sigh* sorry, my attempt at being mean didn't work, oh well, it was worth a try….But seriously you guys reviews are wonderful, they make me happy inside! And if you don't review then I'll be killed by a care bear stare *care bear standing in the background with creepy smile* Oh dear Primus…….


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight!!! Do you know what this means? That's right, enough of you reviewed to make me happy, and spare me from being murdered by a care bear, and prevent me from turning into a strawberry cake and luring Skywarp into a pit of hungry sharkticons! . or maybe not, mwahahahahahaha….Okay but seriously I didn't kill him…

Sooooo….I think I've come a pretty long ways, usually I only write a few pages of something and then I throw it to the mercy of a shredder, but I've already written eight chapters! Yay me! (you should all yay me too!) I love you guys! But no seriously I love you guys, at least the ones of you who consistently review me ^w^ *hint hint for the rest of you*

Anyways you all didn't come to listen to me blabber on about how proud I am of myself, even though I could rant on and on like Bluestreak, but I'll spare you all and get on with the fic. Once upon a time…..

*.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.*

**Ch.8**

Both commanders stood in the midst of desert terrain, glaring at each other with all the normal hatred that each could muster. From behind each faction leader the majority of their armies were gathered, looking almost burned by the anger and tension in the air, Blitzwing leaned towards Thrust discretely, "If looks could kill then I think they'd both be dead!" He declared as the cone-head nodded in agreement. Soundwave had overheard the comment and turned his head to silently reprimand the two, they both looked like they had been shot and fell quiet, looking in the opposite directions of one another. The rest of the crowd stood staring at the two mechs who were handcuffed on either side of the two leaders.

Thundercracker stood at the side of Optimus Prime, looking the very picture of distress and uncertainty. On the other hand, Skyfire stood tall beside Megatron, angered look on his face and an even angrier stance. The white shuttle looked completely beaten, his paintjob scratched, his armor dented and torn off in some places, and one optic shut due to what could only be the possibility of it being missing. It wasn't exactly what seemed like a fair trade, a nearly destroyed scientist for a perfectly unscathed seeker, but it was better than a dead scientist for a perfectly unscathed seeker.

Optimus broke the dead silence that had overcome the two armies with his powerful voice, "Alright Megatron, I've got your soldier, now release mine." He demanded, pushing Thundercracker forward a bit harshly. The seeker looked back at the mech with a glare, resenting him for sending him back while Starscream was still in stasis. The regal looking leader didn't waver in his decision.

Megatron growled and pushed Skyfire forward as roughly as he could without making the mech fall, which was still enough to nearly cause him to trip, though the large jet quickly regained his balance and began to walk over to his faction.

Every step seemed like a thousand miles to the two prisoners, each footfall seeming unnaturally loud to them though it barely even made a sound on the gritty sand. They glanced at one another while passing, "I hope you're happy that you put Starscream in stasis you big idiot!" Thundercracker hissed with acidity, spitting at the larger mech's pedes, "If he dies it's no one's fault but your own!"

Skyfire's previous angered expression changed dramatically, "Stasis?" He seemed unsure, suddenly horrified, "No…" The white jet didn't even want to know how much he had hurt the seeker, he had known he damaged him, but he had no idea how badly.

Thundercracker glared forcefully at the mech, "I hope he never speaks to you again, it would certainly do you justice to never be graced with an accepted apology from him!" And with that said he stuck his nose in the air, shifted his wings into an arrogant position, and walked off towards his faction with newly aroused hatred that he would be happy to share with the others. Skyfire looked at the ground in shame, partly disbelieving the seeker and partly cursing himself for what he did. He had never wanted to hurt Starscream that badly, and the fact that he had hurt the seeker at all was nearly killing him. He sighed sorrowfully, making his way over to his faction with an extremely shamed and sickened countenance.

Megatron nodded as Thundercracker walked past him, seeking the protection of the crowd who was awaiting to greet him. He noticed a bit worriedly that Skywarp was nowhere to be seen when the violet seeker should have been the first one to come running to him. His spark dropped, something bad must have happened to him…

"That concludes this transaction Megatron, I'll send your other seeker when he is fit to leave the med bay." Optimus informed his enemy with a bitter tone, optics narrowing as he thought of the Decepticon leader taking the beautiful mech away from him. As much as it made his processor stall he couldn't help but think that he had a crush on Starscream, then again it wasn't that hard to believe, after all he was a truly stunning seeker.

From the other side of the twin dubbed "hatred border" Megatron nodded, blood red optics nearly burning a hole straight through his nemesis' head. "And as I said before Prime, if there is a single scratch on his helm then there will be hell to pay." He threatened once more, voice deadly and serious. Many of his own troops cringed at the words, knowing full well the extent of their leader's wrath.

"I assure you that he won't be harmed while under my care Megatron; consider him a welcome guest at my base." The Autobot leader said calmly, adding an underlying inflection that the warlord caught onto quickly. Fury lit up the mech's face, but before he could challenge the other commander Optimus turned to his men. "Everyone back to base." He ordered, and his soldiers instantly complied, transforming and speeding off like Unicron was snapping at their heels.

Megatron growled as the other army retreated, did Prime just infer what he thought he did? If so then he was more than just a dead mech, he was a mech that would wish he had been burned in the pit for an eternity after the tyrant was going to get through with him. Thundercracker approached his leader cautiously, hands still cuffed together, "Lord Megatron sir…I know that you hate Starscream, but I just wanted to thank you for at least attempting to negotiate his return…" The blue seeker told him quietly, trying to prevent the others from hearing his gratitude. He was successful in his attempt with the only exception being Soundwave, who took note of everything on his commander's mind as Thundercracker spoke. Megatron's conscience was immediately flooded with guilt and a rather severe form of what could only be an anger-depression mix. He didn't hate Starscream, in fact he…well he couldn't even think of the word but it was the farthest thing from hate that could ever be felt by him. Never could he think of harboring any hatred toward his seeker, the very prospect sickened him, and he wanted nothing more than to get Starscream back so that he could explain his feelings to the young mech. He didn't even care if Starscream hated him afterwards, as long as he knew that he didn't hate him in the least.

Megatron looked at Thundercracker briefly, grabbing the energo-cuffs by the link between the seeker's wrists and breaking them as if they were no more than tiny human string. "When we get back to base I need to talk to you and Skywarp…it's about Starscream…" He admitted, noticing the slightly surprised flash of Soundwave's visor. The communication's officer had never expected his leader to ponder on telling Starscream's trines of his emotions. It was very unlike him, and most surprising was that the Decepticon leader knew exactly how telling the other two seekers could end up in him looking even the littlest bit weak. But he didn't care.

Thundercracker nodded, rubbing his sore wrists in distraction. He had no idea why Megatron would need to talk to him and Skywarp about their trinemate, after all, ever since the violet seeker's little slip up about Starscream's age it would seem that Megatron would already have all the blackmail information he would ever need. That is, if he was planning on making Starscream's life miserable once he came back. Regardless, the seeker wasn't going to deny Megatron anything he wanted when he was possibly the only mech that was scaring the Autobots enough to return Starscream when he was healed.

Ratchet idly checked the many machines that were keeping track of Starscream's condition, listening to the various beeps and sounds that emanated from them as if they were music to his audios. In the medics opinion the sounds were worthy of being music, all of them signs of good vitals and no problems with the healing process, and the information being streamed to a monitor connected to all of them was very good as well, displaying nothing but the healing process and the seeker's improved health. Ah yes, the medic had truly outdone himself this time, with the help of Thundercracker of course. He was grateful that he had his med bay back in order since the Decepticon had left, but he was still feeling slightly bad for the mech. If he were in Thundercracker's position then he would be appalled at the thought of having to leave his friend in a base with the enemy.

The medic looked at the sleeping form of Starscream for a moment, still pondering the idea of how someone like _him _could possibly have any affection for a mech who did nothing but abuse him. When the seeker was to be sent back then Ratchet thought about accompanying him just so he could threaten Megatron with a wrench-to-the-helm type warning! It would serve the slagger right in his opinion!

He looked up as the med bay doors slid open with a soft hiss, two mechs walking inside.

Skyfire entered the room a bit unsurely, gaze sweeping the room slowly, searching. When he finally found what he was looking for his face contorted into a mask of horror, "No…no, no, no! What have I done?!" He asked himself as he walked over to the operating table and stared down at Starscream in disbelief. Seeing the seeker so quiet and unmoving was unnatural to say the least, after so many millennia of being around him when he was so lively and happy it just didn't seem right to see him silent. Skyfire would rather see him the way he was on the battlefield than see him like this, so…deathly.

Ratchet took a few steps away on instinct when he noticed Skyfire's mood, however this quickly changed when he remembered that it was Skyfire who had hurt Starscream in the first place. The medic went to his patient and blocked Skyfire from getting too close to him, "Go sit down Skyfire, I'll be with you as soon as I'm done talking to Prime!" He said a bit protectively as he guarded the seeker from what he thought could be a possibly dangerous situation.

Skyfire's expression nearly wanted to make Ratchet stab himself in the spark, the mech looked as is if he were about to break down right then and there, his entire frame shaking in sorrow. "I-I never meant to hurt him Ratchet! I swear I didn't, I love Starscream, I would never do this to him on purpose. I just wanted him to realize that the Decepticons aren't right for him! He would be happy here with us, as an Autobot! With me!" The shuttle tried to explain in a frenzy, inwardly seething at himself for ever causing the seeker so much pain.

Optimus, who had walked in behind Skyfire, felt a slight sting of jealousy at the mech's words. He knew that Skyfire and Starscream had been friends at one point, but now that was over, ever since the battle they had had when Skyfire was revived Starscream had wanted nothing to do with the mech. The Autobot leader felt slightly consoled by this, he didn't want to seem like a jerk by staking a claim on the seeker, nor did he want to be happy with the fact that Starscream no longer had feelings toward Skyfire. He really was a bit overjoyed with the thought though, if Starscream refused to talk to Skyfire when he woke up then it would be easier for him to talk to the seeker, which he really wanted to do.

Ratchet sighed, shaking his head in frustration, "Look, I know that you didn't mean to hurt him Skyfire, but you still did…And it's Starscream's best interest that you aren't around him alright? If you really care about him then you'll understand that right?" The medic questioned to the slightly dazed mech before him, trying to distract him from looking at Starscream as if he were dead and it was all his fault.

Thundercracker's words echoed in Skyfire's processor, and the shuttle looked away from his previous lover. He nodded in response to Ratchet's inquisitions, though he heard nothing the medic had said, all he could hear was the biting voice that kept reminding him of what he had done. He was a monster…he had nearly killed the only mech in the entire universe that he had ever loved, and what was even more sickening to him was that he had nearly killed him trying to make him switch sides. That was the entire reason Starscream hated him anyways, he had joined the Autobots and betrayed the seeker when he had been willing to take him back. Thundercracker was right, it would serve him right to never hear Starscream accept an apology from him, if he ever woke up from stasis that was.

Ratchet pointed Skyfire to an empty table that was the farthest from the one Starscream was occupying, making the large jet sit down. The medic gave him a stern look, "You can look at him, but I swear to Primus if you even think about going near him then you'll have me to deal with is that clear?" He asked shrewdly, sparing no kindness in his tone as he made sure the larger mech got the point. And true to form, Skyfire nodded sadly, looking to the floor. Ratchet patted his shoulder in a reassuring manner, "I know it's hard, but he isn't yours anymore…" He reminded with a sigh "I'll get that optic fixed up for you in a minute, just let me talk to the boss bot right quick." Skyfire simply nodded again, resorting to a depressed state of mind where he could self loathe.

Ratchet walked over to Optimus with fast steps, grabbing the mech by the arm and leading him towards the doors of the med bay. The medic glanced over his shoulder at Skyfire and then turned back to his leader, in a low voice he spoke words of pure murder. "What the hell is _wrong _with you Prime?!" He growled irately, not caring about the tone he used with the superior mech at the moment. Optimus looked baffled, optics wide in confusion, "What do you—" He started, though he was quickly interrupted. "Why did you have to bring him to _me_!?!? Why not First Aid!?"

The Autobot leader suddenly adopted the appearance of an accused lambo twin, a look of idiocy and apology that he barely managed to pull off, "Oh…I didn't think of that…" He admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, trying to avoid his medic's scrutinizing gaze. All that Ratchet could do was quietly spit curses toward him as if he were a sparkling who had done something wrong and was now being reprimanded for it, which was pretty much the situation. But he soon realized that Optimus really couldn't be blamed, everyone normally came to him when they were injured anyways, and the fact that he had an injured seeker in his med bay didn't change anything. After all, Skyfire felt horrible for what he had done to Starscream, so there was no way in hell that he would dare to hurt the seeker again, especially with him being in stasis.

"Alright. Here's what we're gonna do, I'll repair him, but as soon as I do he's out of here! I know that he won't do anything wrong, but whenever Starscream wakes up I don't want him to freak out and end up falling unconscious again. Oh, and if Skyfire somehow manages to get hurt again, send him to First Aid, okay?" Ratchet lectured as he waggled his finger in front of his commander's face, other hand on his hip in the stance of an annoyed parent. Optimus simply nodded in compliance, not wanting to anger the red and white mech and risk having either a wrench being thrown at him or complementary surgery, which was worse he didn't know, and he really didn't want to find out.

Ratchet smirked and peered back over his shoulder to see Skyfire chipping some of the paint off from around a gash on his leg, distracted for the time being and paying no attention to his surroundings. At least that meant he wasn't trying to listen in on them, and so he discretely turned to continue talking to his leader. "You're gonna have to find some way to keep him from coming in here once I get through fixing him up, I can't have him running in and out all day like I know he will, and…" He stopped mid-sentence suddenly as a chorus of loud beeps and alerts started to come from the many machines keeping track of Starscream's systems.

His optics darted to the seeker like lightning, and to his horror he saw the small jet trying to move, optics shut tight in pain and hands clawing at the operating table.

Ratchet immediately ran to him, pressing different things on the machines and entering codes, though the noise continued loudly, and it seemed that it was only managing to frighten Starscream into full consciousness. The seeker arched off the table with an agonized cry capable of shattering glass, tears beginning to stream down his face involuntarily because of the sheer amount of pain that he was in. Ratchet growled and headed for a syringe that lay with his tools, "Optimus! Hold him down!" He yelled, grabbing the needle and filling it with a powerful sedative. Skyfire attempted to get up, shocked and more than a little worried at how Starscream had managed to wake from the anesthetics that Ratchet had surely had him on. However, the medic sent him a death glare, and so he remained sitting on the table he had been assigned to, feeling absolutely helpless as he watched his friend come back to consciousness mere hours after his many different procedures. He didn't even want to imagine the pain that the seeker had to be in.

Ratchet gripped the needle that he had just filled and shouted irately at Optimus, "I said hold him down! Now before he hurts himself!!!"

The Autobot leader was stirred into motion quickly, broken out of the horrified trance he had been in just seconds ago. He ran over to the struggling seeker and pinned the mech's arms at his sides, leaving him to arch, kick, and scream in pure agony. He had never seen anything so sickeningly fascinating before, no mech he had ever heard of had come out of an anesthesia produced sleep before. And yet here was the beautiful form of Starscream, crying out incomprehensibly as his entire body was wracked with pain. Optimus leaned on him a little to prevent him from lifting up off of the table and injuring his spinal relays again, if it weren't for the direness of the situation then he would have felt extremely awkward at the position, but he had no time to think about it. Starscream cried out loudly and tried to fight against the force that was holding him down, viciously writhing and kicking as a blind fear took over his mind. His panicking did little to improve the situation, and Optimus couldn't dodge a sharp kick to his midsection. He growled slightly at the dull pain, accomplishing something that horrified him even more.

Starscream's optics snapped open as soon as the Autobot leader had let out the sound, and the seeker instantly locked onto him, staring up at him with an agony-crazed, desperate, and frightened look.

It was unlike anything that Optimus had ever seen before, for a split second the Decepticon seemed so calm and surreal that it was as if he were in no pain, and then, all of a sudden, all hell broke loose.

The seeker screamed like he'd been shot, fighting with every last little bit of strength that he had in him, which wasn't a lot, to push the larger mech off of him. He thrashed around wildly, digging his fingers into the table to try and gain leverage enough to buck him off, but nothing he did was working, not even when he resorted to squirming around to try and see if the Autobot commander would jump away or not. It took everything in the Autobot leader to hold Starscream down, he had never realized that someone of the seeker's size could possibly be so powerful when they were frightened, nor did he imagine that Starscream would have reacted with that much fear in the first place. After all, before he had passed out Optimus had told him that they were going to fix him, not harm him. And the seeker had trusted him at the time.

Finally, after a few minutes of frantic struggling on Starscream's part, the seeker ran out of stamina, strength, and breath, resigning himself to fall back onto the operating table panting uncontrollably. His entire body felt like it was on fire, the steady burning and excruciating agony from when he was in the cell coming back full force. Everything hurt, especially his back and wings. With his intakes cycling full speed he felt as if he were about to ripped apart, but he couldn't breathe any slower because of the struggling he had just done, which he now was regretting as he looked at in retrospect. Then again what he was supposed to do? Optimus Prime, the almighty and esteemed leader of the Autobots, his _enemy_, was pinning him down on some kind of surface that was far from being distinguishable at the moment. He hated to even think of it but he knew that he had been frightened when he woke up to that! The last thing he remembered was being in that Primus forsaken cell and telling the autobots to kill him while Thundercracker threatened them all from behind another set of bars. Then everything had gone black…and now, now he was still in an unbearable amount of pain, but what was worse was the mech above him that had an oblivious expression in his optics. Had he not been taken out of the cell? Had he not been repaired? But the Autobots had told him that they were going to help him…would they have actually lied? Were they going to let him die? Was Optimus Prime going to kill him? And why couldn't he hear anything except for the loud cacophony of shrieking medical machines? Unless…he was in a med bay. So where was…

"Thundercracker!!!" Starscream cried in a panicked frenzy, once again trying to struggle against his captor as tears rolled down his cheeks. He was quite clearly beyond the point of rational fear.

Optimus looked to Ratchet pleadingly, knowing that the seeker was frightened and in pain, but the medic had abandoned the small amount of sedative from earlier and was reading through Starscream's transferred medical files from the Nemesis. The red and white mech sighed in exasperation, throwing all of the accumulated data pads to the floor and running to the storage closet at the far side of the room, the door opened quickly but not quickly enough for the rushing medic. As a result Ratchet kicked the sliding mechanism harshly once it was all the way open and jammed it, oh well, it could be fixed later, but right now he didn't have the time to wait on it to open and close. He searched through the shelves in the closet frantically, pushing entire rows of vials onto the floor as his optics darted here and there to find what he was looking for. After a mere five seconds of flurried movements that seemed like forever, Ratchet grabbed a vial of fluorescent blue liquid and expressed an "Ah ha!" of excitement and relief. He ran from the storage room like a bat out of hell and rushed to Starscream and Optimus. "Here, make him drink this!" The medic instructed, handing the vial to his stunned leader and running over to his desk. As Optimus looked at the vial quizzically he heard Ratchet suddenly growl, "Where did all of Starscream's medical files go!?", "On the floor." He answered, now preoccupied with the terrified look on Starscream's face as the seeker regarded the vial as well. Ratchet threw his hands up in confused fury "Gah! How did they get there?!", Optimus sighed, carefully pulling Starscream into a sitting position that was much more like a caring embrace, much to the smaller mech's horror, "You threw them down there! And what is this stuff anyway?" He asked the medic, trying to press the vial to Starscream's lips. However, the seeker turned his head away quickly, lips sealed tight in childish refusal.

Optimus sighed, "Come on, just drink it." He told the seeker.

Starscream shook his head.

"I'm sure that it will only help."

He shook his head again.

"It's not poisoned! Just drink it!"

"No!"

"Why?"

"Because!"

"Drink it!"

"No!!!"

"Now!"

"No!!!!"

"I SAID NOW!!!!"

"Okay!!!!!"

The seeker gathered a little bit of strength and took the vial from Optimus with a glare, tossing his head back and downing the whole thing as if it were a shot of strong high grade.

The Autobot commander smiled behind his mask, "There, was that so bad?" He asked, watching as Starscream eyed him distrustfully. The small mech was wary of the way that Optimus was holding him, disturbed and more than a little comforted…if he could even put it as comforting…which it was…

Ratchet, who had been picking up the strewn data pads as the argument had proceeded, stood up and finished reading one that Hook had clearly labeled What To Do So You Don't Kill Starscream And Make My Life Any Easier. Written with fancy cursive lettering of course.

He muttered something to himself and walked over to Starscream with a syringe full of enough sedative to knock out twenty Blurrs hopped up on caffeine.

The poor seeker never even saw it coming as Ratchet stabbed the needle into his neck, injecting the liquid and humming to himself as he did so.

Starscream yelped in surprise, jumping slightly and clinging to Optimus for protection against the unknown attack. Not even a moment after the sedative hit his systems the seeker's vision suddenly got blurry, his optics began to close, and his head fell against the Autobot leader's broad chest. He slipped back into stasis with an almost contented sigh, arms still wrapped around Optimus' midsection in a limp embrace.

Ratchet regarded Optimus' question from earlier with an uninterested shrug, "That blue liquid that you administered was to force him back into stasis lock, the sedative was to keep him in it." He then continued to read over Hook's report, completely ignoring his leader as the mech practically drooled over Starscream.

Optimus stared down at the small Decepticon in his arms, marveling at how beautiful he was. He had never thought he could see a member of the enemy faction as anywhere near attractive, but here he was, obsessing over the childish, hardheaded, and somewhat cruel Decepticon Second In Command like the younger mech was some kind of pin-up poster.

Ratchet sighed as he read the data pad he had recovered before sedating Starscream. "It seems that he's immune to the normal amount of sedative for a mech his size due to being put in the med bay at the Nemesis so much, he requires a much higher dose than what he should normally take…that's why he woke up when he shouldn't have, I didn't give him an adequate amount and so it wore off faster than it was supposed to…" He explained a bit ashamed of himself for not finding out before he had operated on the seeker. There was no doubt that Starscream wouldn't have woken up if he had.

Optimus simply nodded, "I wouldn't doubt it. I've heard rumors over the years of Megatron beating him to the point of near death. I just never understood why he didn't defect to us, out of all the times it's happened then you would think that he would've a long time ago." He admitted in thought as he held the seeker close, listening to the soft cycling of his intakes as he slept. It was very calming, especially with the occasional twitching of his wings that would brush against Optimus' arm. Ratchet was caught somewhere between wanting to agree with his commander and wanting to defend the seeker's choices, a choice he was rather sure that Starscream had made when he first joined the Decepticons. "Well…I think the main reason that he hasn't defected is because he…well, he…he um…he likes it…"

Optimus was confused, and he gently laid the seeker down onto the operating table, turning to face his medic. "_It_? It as in what?" He asked, not exactly sure he wanted to know.

Ratchet exhaled slowly and made an unsure motion with his hands, "Weeeeeeellllllllllllll….._it _refers to either the beatings…." at this part there was a pause for dramatic effect "or Megatron…" He attempted to sound as if he really didn't know, possibly to spare his leader the thought of the mech he quite clearly had a crush on having a crush on his arch enemy.

From across the room Skyfire spit out some of the energon he was drinking, which he had had time enough to go and get(in case anyone was wondering) and promptly fainted.

Optimus, however, wasn't surprised in the least. "I can change that." He said confidently, and then he walked away.

*.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.**.*.*.*

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! Sooooo…um…yeah…here it is! Chapter 8, hot off the decaying remains of my brain!

So anyways yeah I tried to redeem Skyfire…I don't know if I did a good job of that or not…and I added a little bit of a Starscream/Optimus moment. There will be more to come in later chapters, along with some smut X3

But in the end Starscream goes back to Megatron, or does he? Yeah he does! Or does he?! The answer is yes! OR DOES HE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Lol I'm not gonna tell you!!!

*Announcer/tour guide voice* Please note the parenthesis where I added a comment near the end of the chapter! Yes, that's right! I intervened! Don't you just hate that? Of course you do! Oh well, if I say I'm sorry will it make you feel better? I hope so, because if not then I'll be murdered by my beta CaptainInsaneD…… O.O she scares me! She scares me a lot!!!!

Annnnyyyywwaaayyyysss……yeah…I'm tired, I'm going to sleep now, so bye-bye! And hopefully CaptainInsaneD *cough cough!!!!* won't kill me! Because hopefully my faithful reviewers *cough cough again!* won't let her!!! In other words my dear friends, threaten her!-that's a hint by the way. Mwahahahahahahahahahaha! It amuses me!

Lol no joke though, reviews make me happy, and when I'm happy I write things, and when I write things sometimes you read them. And all of that adds up to some kind of math problem that I don't even want to think about solving! So please REVIEW!!!


	9. Chapter 9

Yay! Chapter nine! Anyways, this chapter is centered around the Decepticons and Megatron's…problem…lol if you can call it that. There will be some "Bringing Skywarp Back From The Land Of The Insane" time! Yay! That's right people I didn't feed him to sharkticons, and yes I'm bringing him back into the story because we all wuvs him! So, read and enjoy please!

(Oh, by the way! If you find any mistakes feel free to blame my lazy beta because she was too busy being a lazy person to check for any mistakes like she's supposed to! :o

-…-…-…-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...

Ch.9

Thundercracker walked down the familiar halls of the Nemesis, an overwhelming amount of relief and happiness flooding his systems at being back in his own base. However, there was still a horrible feeling lingering in his spark about leaving Starscream with the Autobots. Especially now that Skyfire was there with him, there was no telling what could happen to his trine leader. He tried to console himself by remembering that Ratchet would inform them of anything unexpected, but that still wasn't enough, Starscream should be here, with him and Skywarp. Speaking of Skywarp, that was exactly who he was on his way to see.

The blue seeker rounded a corner in anticipation of seeing his friend, he had heard that Skywarp was in the med bay, but he hadn't been told why. Megatron had simply told him to go and get the other flier and then immediately report to his quarters. Thundercracker could only assume that it was to talk about what his leader had told him after the trade first took place earlier that day. Starscream.

He came to a stop in front of the med bay doors, waiting patiently for them to open so that he could enter. As soon as they did, he strode inside looking extremely proud of himself, wings perked and a smile on his face, no doubt he was expecting praise. But praise wasn't exactly what he got, though it was close enough. Hook looked up from a message he had just received and smiled at the visitor, "Ah! Thundercracker, it certainly is nice to see you…in one piece that is." The Decepticon medic greeted him. Thundercracker paused for a moment, caught off guard by the last part of Hook's statement, "Why wouldn't I be in one piece?" He asked. The Constructicon shrugged, "Well, you _were _taken as a prisoner of war after all. I just expected you to come back with at least a scratch or something! But no, you're unscathed and I'm out of a job for the moment!" He lectured, standing up from a chair and walking around his desk. "Oh well, I suppose there's still Starscream to wait for. Speaking of Starscream the Autobot medic just sent me a message, he woke up from stasis about an hour ago and-"

Hook was cut short as Thundercracker's expression lit up, the blue seeker happy beyond belief, "He woke up! So he's okay!" The jet inquired excitedly, fighting the urge to start jumping and down like a giddy youngling. Hook frowned, "Well actually…he only woke up because Ratchet didn't inject him with the proper amount of sedative, he was in an excruciating amount of pain…so to answer your question, no, he isn't okay, far from it in fact." The medic sighed as he watched Thundercracker carefully, wanting to make sure that the seeker fully understood, as Ratchet had asked him to do. "He said that if you wish then you and Skywarp can go to the Ark to check on him. But apparently Ratchet got everything under control so there isn't really a need to go scurrying back there, after all I don't believe they want to see you after just now getting rid of you!" He lectured a bit sternly, though he didn't really put any hurtful emphasis into his words. He knew that the Autobots didn't really mind Thundercracker that much now, Ratchet had been sure to tell him all about the blue seeker's medical capabilities and had also told him to complain to Thundercracker about pursuing a medical degree. Hook knew that all three of the seekers were pretty skilled when it came to repairs, seeing as how they took care of one another's minor injuries the majority of the times. In fact, the only time that Hook ever saw any of them in the med bay was if they were badly injured in battle, Starscream excluded. The Decepticon surgeon snapped out of his thoughts and looked back to Thundercracker, whose expression was pained to say the least, "Are you alright?" He questioned, "Perhaps you should sit down." The offer was left hanging for a few moments before finally the seeker blinked and looked away from whatever object he had been dazing at. "No, that's okay…" Thundercracker told him quietly, "I just, I need to talk to Skywarp, he needs to know about everything that's happened…I mean, none of you told him what happened have you?"

Hook sighed in slight frustration, rubbing the back of his neck and trying to come up with a suitable answer, "Well you see, after you and Starscream went missing Skywarp's state of mental health was…" He started, pausing to find the right word,

"Bad?" Thundercracker offered, "Deplorable." Hook corrected. "He started to become frantic and had to be restrained and brought back to base. With Starscream captured you would have naturally acted as Air Commander in his place, but since you were captured as well that left the job to Skywarp, but he refused it, simply screaming about the two of you being dead and that he might as well be too. The coneheads tried to kill him a few times but Megatron put a stop to that. He's still in confinement if you want to see him. I'm in hopes that you'll be able to put him back to his right self. It's not the same without him warping about everywhere and causing me to nearly kill my patients." The medic's tone was almost sad at the end, though it sounded more like a mixture of boredom and annoyance than anything else. Thundercracker nodded, allowing for Hook to point him to a door at the other side of the med bay that bore a sign which clearly read "Solitary Confinement: Potentially Dangerous Mechs Beyond This Point: Exercising Caution Is Best Advised."

The blue seeker took a deep breath, preparing himself to see the worst, and walked to the door. It only took a second for it to open, and as soon as it did it became apparent as to just how bad of a condition Skywarp was in. The dark flier was curled up in a corner of the room underneath a berth, wings making a soft vibrating noise as they trembled, he was staring blankly at nothing in particular, face streaked with tears that had pooled up on the floor underneath him. Thundercracker had to fight to keep from falling to his knees and breaking down at the sight, he had never seen Skywarp in such a state, the purple seeker was always so happy, having not a care in the world. Yet to see him this way, optics glazed with thoughtlessness, body shaking constantly as if he were cold, and mumbling unintelligible things that couldn't quite be heard, it was spark breaking.

As carefully as possible Thundercracker made his way across the small room, slowly approaching the berth and kneeling down to get a good look at the curled up mech beneath it. It didn't take long before Skywarp noticed him, his incomprehensible speech ceasing and optics meeting with those of his friend's. For a second he looked as if he were seeing a ghost, but when Thundercracker didn't disappear like an apparition should, he quickly came to the realization that he wasn't imagining it.

Skywarp scrambled out from underneath the berth and latched onto his friend with enough force to knock him over, causing them both to hit the floor in a heap of tangled limbs and happy laughter. Thundercracker hugged him tightly, not caring that he had been tackled at the moment as he held his trinemate close, enjoying the fact that he was alright. Skywarp remained attached to the other flier, clinging onto him as if for dear life, "Thunder I thought you were dead! I thought that you were dead, I'm sorry, I should've known better but I couldn't help it! They took you away, you and Star, I thought you were dead and there was nothing I could do! Please forgive me!" He cried, shaking again as he buried his face in Thundercracker's neck, trying to be as close to the other flier as possible in the fear that he might go away again. Thundercracker smiled softly, trying to ebb away his trinemate's fear and convince him that it was all illogical. "I wasn't dead Sky, you know I could never leave you like that! And even if I was dead then I would haunt you, at least that way you wouldn't really have to be alone, well, not completely alone…" He said with a sheepish grin, sitting up and forcing Skywarp to sit up as well. The dark seeker moved away from his friend to sit Indian style and look at him with a happy smile, the first one that he had been able to manage ever since he thought his wingmates had been killed. For the first time in a long while he didn't feel as if he were alone, the warmth that came with having the ones he loved with him returning to heal his mental and emotional wounds. But he suddenly realized that something was missing…

"Where's Star?" Skywarp asked, smile fading from his features as quickly as it had come. Thundercracker was at a loss for words. Should he tell Skywarp the truth and risk his friend's sanity, or should he lie and risk damaging the trust between them? It was a truly hard decision, but Skywarp had to know, it wouldn't be right not to tell him.

The blue seeker sighed and looked to the floor, wings lowered in sorrow as Skywarp eagerly listened for an explanation. "Starscream is…well, he's in stasis." Thundercracker started, watching for any sudden changes in his trinemate's behavior, though nothing really became apparent except for Skywarp's general expression, which was sad to say the least. "So…they hurt him?" The purple flier asked in a tone filled with disbelief and childish horror, "But I thought that Autobots didn't do that! They're not supposed to be the brutal ones, we are! And how could they do anything to hurt Starscream anyways? Do they not know that he's only a youngling!" His tone had quickly changed from horrified to angry, emotions whirling around in a hurricane that was hell bent on revenge. Thundercracker put a hand on Skywarp's shoulder calmingly, "Look, Star isn't a youngling, he's fully capable of taking care of himself, and no the Autobots don't know how young he is, only Ratchet and Skyfire! Besides, _Skyfire _is the one who hurt him, not the others, they only wanted to help. I mean, he was in pretty bad shape Sky, I don't think I've ever seen him injured that badly."

Skywarp took a moment to let the words fully sink in, Skyfire had _hurt _Starscream? Was that even remotely possible? The guy was in love with the younger seeker for Primus' sake! Why would he have hurt him? None of it was making sense now, and the fact that Starscream hadn't come back because he was in stasis _because _of Skyfire was only serving to make things worse. Much, much worse.

"Why couldn't they just send him back with you? I mean, you could've carried him!" He protested as he sent a mean look Thundercracker's way, as if accusing the other seeker of being too lazy to carry their friend back. Thundercracker tensed up and stared wide-eyed at the accusing gaze, "What? I would have if I could! But they wouldn't let me, he was in too bad of a condition to be transported, and Ratchet just sent Hook a message saying that some difficulties raised their heads today anyways, he's probably better off there for the time being Warp. There's no telling what kind of mood Megatron would be in anyways, he would just make things worse for Starscream…", Skywarp slightly nodded, though he didn't completely agree with his friend.

Thundercracker stood up and held his hand out to help Skywarp up as well, "That reminds me, Megatron wants to see us in his quarters, he says it's about Starscream.", Skywarp took his trinemate's hand and pulled himself to his pedes, taking a minute to stretch his stiff joints before making his way towards the exit. "Better go see what he wants, I just hope that we don't end up becoming his new punching bags."

With that said they both grimly headed towards their leader's quarters.

Megatron sat at his desk, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the neat surface as his mind wandered over many things, though he was focused on nothing in particular. He was waiting for Thundercracker to show up with Skywarp, hopefully both seekers would be competent enough to help him cope with a rather startling…revelation he had come to. They were Starscream's trinemates after all, they would know how their Air Commander felt, surely they would be of some help, if only a small bit. There were so many questions he was planning to ask them, as well as explaining himself to them about how he viewed Starscream. Hopefully admitting his emotions for the youngest seeker would shed some light on the things he was doing wrong, and maybe he would even be able to admit his, dare he even think of the vile word, to Starscream.

Standing by the door inside of his leader's quarters, Soundwave listened to the confusing and unorganized thoughts of the ex-gladiator. He silently mused that Megatron was nervous about telling Starscream's trinemates, which he had every right to be even if he didn't want to admit it. After all, if Thundercracker and Skywarp disapproved of the emotions Megatron harbored towards their trine leader, then Starscream would probably never reciprocate the feelings. Or, the two seekers could react with violence, Soundwave personally knew that when it came to Starscream's protection, the two older mechs would remove anything they saw as a threat immediately. He had once come online to find himself welded to the Nemesis' ceiling simply because he had referred to Starscream as "attractive" and Skywarp feared he was a potential rapist. When he was finally rescued by his cassettes he never complimented Starscream again, however, it never failed to catch his attention that the majority of Skywarp's pranks centered around him. Over the millennia he learned to ignore the trine, the only exception being Starscream because the young seeker was his commanding officer. Now though, it seemed that he was going to be forced to interact with them because of Megatron's _problem_. A particularly lewd thought suddenly reminded him of his leader's presence, and the communications officer had to shake the image of an ecstasy-ridden Starscream from his mind. He looked over to see Megatron staring off into space, a lazy smile on his features as he daydreamed about his subordinate. Soundwave ever-so-slightly cringed at his commander's thoughts, Primus forbid Starscream ever see what went on in that mech's head, the seeker would probably run screaming into the night and never be seen again.

The visored mech was relieved when finally the comm. to Megatron's room announced the presence of the two seekers outside. /::Lord Megatron, may we enter?::/ Came Thundercracker's voice, noticeably on edge as he waited for his leader's answer. It wasn't long before Megatron snapped out of his daydream and motioned for Soundwave to allow them in. The door slid open not even a moment later, and the two seeker mechs cautiously entered the room, their thrusters clicking against the metal floor and causing an echo in the dead silence of their new surroundings.

Megatron leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk and hands clasped together as he eyed the two visitors. Thundercracker appeared to be somewhat less nervous than Skywarp, whose spontaneous recovery from insanity caused him to be happy no matter where he was, even being in his leader's presence wasn't intimidating the purple flier for once.

"Take a seat." Megatron ordered suddenly, motioning towards the two chairs that were placed across the desk from him. Thundercracker and Skywarp wasted no time in obeying him, sitting down and staring forward at the tyrants scrutinizing gaze. Megatron shifted minutely, raising an optic ridge and finally prodding the two with a question. "Tell me," He started, "Exactly how do you think I see Starscream?"

Thundercracker gaped, was that supposed to be rhetorical or did Megatron actually want them to answer that. How were they supposed to know what their leader thought about Starscream?

Before Thundercracker could come up with a suitable answer Skywarp blurted out three simple words, "You hate him!" and then the dark seeker settled back into his chair with an accomplished smile. His companion looked at him incredulously, caught somewhere between wanting to choke him and being thankful that he had at least said something. Megatron's gaze centered on Skywarp for a moment, "And why would you think I hate him?" He asked, persisting with the same train of thought.

Skywarp shrugged, "I dunno, maybe it's because you two are always fighting. I mean you don't really fight with someone unless you hate them." He offered unsurely, merely throwing what he thought was a logical statement into the open. Thundercracker simply sighed, he had a nagging feeling in his processor that he knew where this conversation was headed.

Megatron thought over what Skywarp had said, "On the contrary, many people fight, even bonded mechs." He corrected, earning an interested look from the seeker. "Are you trying to tell me that you and Starscream are…" Skywarp stopped, refusing to say the word, and at this point Thundercracker intervened in the conversation. "No, they aren't bonded Sky." He consoled the purple flier, though his friend's expression didn't reveal that he was really concerned, in fact he almost looked slightly disappointed. Megatron sighed and leaned back, a sure sign that he was about to go in depth with something that Thundercracker wasn't so sure he was wanting to hear. There were many reasons that no one liked to be lectured by the tyrant, what those reasons were however, were unclear, no mech who had been summoned to his quarters other than Soundwave had ever come out alive. Maybe it was the fact that he was intimidating, well downright scary was more like it but Thundercracker would never say that to his leader's face for fear of retribution. With Starscream being gone he was in no mood to become Megatron's new punching bag, nor did he want Skywarp to befall that fate either. And so, the blue seeker sat patiently in his chair, extending a hand to Skywarp who quickly took it in his own and began fidgeting with it, moving the slightly larger seeker's fingers around and inspecting his palm for distraction. Megatron paid the actions no attention, choosing instead to proceed with what he had called them here for.

"You two are…Starscream's wingmates. Trinemates." He began, trying to sound casual while still maintaining a tone of indifference. Thundercracker and Skywarp both nodded in response. Megatron continued, "Starscream is…well, needless to say I have a problem concerning him. Though it's not what the two of you may think." He paused for a moment to try and choose his next words as carefully as possible, not wanting to upset the seekers he was, Primus he almost couldn't think of the word, _appealing _to. If anyone could help him get in his second's good graces it was the mech's trinemates. "You see, for a long time now I've been feeling…well there, that's just it, I'm actually _feeling_! And worst of all is that it's guilt…" Once again he paused, giving his subordinates enough time to try and come to terms with the fact that their illustrious leader actually had feelings. And as horrible as it was, the Decepticon leader had to admit that when it came to Starscream he would most likely end up letting his emotions, what little of them there were, get the best of him. Regardless of the fact that he was supposed to be a sparkless, cruel and ultimately uncaring tyrant, he couldn't deny that he was feeling _something _for his second, even he didn't know exactly what it was.

Skywarp and Thundercracker both stared forward with a dumb look, as if not grasping a single word that their leader had said to them. At this Soundwave calmly made his presence known, approaching the desk with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Problem: Megatron is not familiar with many emotions, therefore he doesn't know what he feels for Starscream. Solution: Allow Starscream to become aware of Megatron's feelings and he may reciprocate them to better understanding. That is the reason that you two have been summoned, as his trine you are logically the only ones to turn to in order to provide useful information on Starscream's psyche the situation."

The two still had dumbfounded looks plastered on their faceplates, prompting Soundwave to come up with an impromptu replacement of words. "In other words, you two must know what Starscream thinks and can provide information that would help Megatron to best explain himself to him." When the two seekers adopted slightly angry looks he then added, "To lessen any complications and in turn lessen any damage to your trine leader." That seemed to do the trick, somewhat.

Thundercracker glared forward at Megatron with visible hatred clear in his optics, "_You _have feelings for Starscream. _Our _Starscream!" He growled, caught somewhere between rage and confusion at the very thought of the ruthless Decepticon leader even looking at his young trinemate, let alone having feelings for him. "You can't honestly think that we'd believe you! You beat the slag out of the him almost every day, how is that conveying any feelings whatsoever besides hate! You hate him!" Thundercracker shouted, standing from his chair to point an accusatory finger at his leader. Skywarp tried to pull the blue seeker back down to no avail. Megatron stood as well, his chair toppling backwards as he met Thundercracker head on, "I do not _hate _Starscream!" The commander roared, fury alighting his features to produce a truly terrifying mech, and with that Thundercracker allowed Skywarp to gently yank him back down before he ended up offlined.

Megatron fumed quietly and took to pacing around the room, trying to calm himself as best he could without hitting anyone. He knew that if he ended up damaging one of Starscream's wingmates it would be a definite obstacle to what he was trying to accomplish. So, he had to refrain from hurting either one of them, Skywarp obviously would be the easier one to deal with seeing as how Thundercracker was so accustomed to caring for the younger trinemate that he was extremely protective of him. And so, Megatron finally regained his previous calm yet imposing composure and turned back to the two wary seekers who were looking at him.

Skywarp's expression was only slightly worried, confusion hinting through his wide opticed stare. He piped up in an almost frightened voice, "Well…if you don't hate him…then you love him?" He inquired childishly, though for once he was actually making sense, not making a total fool of himself. Thundercracker scoffed, crossing his arms over his cockpit and refusing to look in Megatron's direction. It was probably for the best anyways.

The tyrant stopped pacing at the use of the word love. He had already pondered the word many, many, many times, and the more he thought about it the more it started to make sense. But it couldn't possibly be what he was feeling, it just couldn't. Love was such an illogical emotion and as a leader he couldn't be compromised by anything of the sort, it would lead to nothing but trouble. But every time he thought of Starscream…it just made so much sense, complete and total sense. After all, Starscream was powerful, intelligent, rational, and more beautiful then a mech should be. Would it really demean him that much if he allowed himself to love Starscream. No, if anything other mechs would only look to him with envy and jealousy at having such a stunning seeker by his side. But then there was the added trust factor. For this he returned his gaze to Skywarp, looking to the violet and black seeker for answers that he was sure he knew.

"Now, tell me Skywarp…" He began calmly, seeking out the information while also trying to keep the jittery seeker from becoming distracted, he decided that a straightforward approach would probably be the best. "Starscream rebels a lot to say the least. What makes him do such things, after all, on some occasions I didn't do anything to provoke him. So, perhaps you have an answer for me, it would help me to understand how he works so that maybe there will less arguments between us when he comes back." He tried explaining to the seeker, who looked at him the entire time with an excited expression, bobbing his head up and down as he waited to explain the entire story.

Skywarp turned around in his chair, standing with his knees as he energetically huffed and began spilling information faster than what Megatron thought was possible.

"Well you see, Starscream is pretty smart! I mean, with the Decepticons being such a…well, for lack of a better word, deceptive group, he knew that eventually someone would oppose you! And so, in order to protect you from anyone really trying to obtain power he fakes it! Yep, every last one of his little takeover schemes has been completely staged, fake, fakeity, fake, fake, fake! I thought he was brilliant for coming up with a plan like that, except for the fact that he never told you about it. So even though he was just faking, you actually ended up hurting him…I mean, he always claims that if you knew he was just kidding about taking over then you wouldn't hurt him and no one would believe it and they would try and take over anyways! So he said it was necessary even though I still think he should've told you! It's not fair that he has to get hurt so much y'know?" Skywarp explained with a series of hand motions and facial expressions that resembled that of an excited youngling when telling their creator what they had done at a friend's house for the weekend. He was smiling the entire time as if he Megatron's presence and the fact that he was spilling more of Starscream's secrets to the Decepticon leader meant nothing to him. Thundercracker however, was less than pleased at his trinemate's behavior, and as unenthusiastically as possible he glared at Skywarp, anger clear as his most prominent emotion at the time.

"Warp, don't you think that you've ruined things enough for Starscream? I mean first you expose his age and now this? What the frag is wrong with you, are you some kind of idiot!" The blue seeker yelled against his better judgment, teeth bared at his friend angrily. Years after years of being a role model to his youngest trinemate had caused him to be so overprotective towards him that he felt like an older sibling, and as that older sibling he wanted nothing more than to make sure that Starscream's secrets were kept where they belonged, with people he could trust, not with Megatron or any of the other Decepticons for that matter. Of course, the protection was mainly for Starscream's mental and emotional wellbeing, after all, when Megatron would beat him there was nothing that Thundercracker could do. But Primus be damned if anything were to befall his young friend now that his secrets were exposed, if Megatron dared to even try and exploit them, the Thundercracker wouldn't hold back in attacking his leader for the safety of Starscream.

Skywarp froze where he was turned facing Megatron, a hurt expression suddenly replacing his excited one. Thundercracker had never yelled at _him _before, he had always thought that his wingmate could tolerate him no matter what, had he really said something _that _wrong? It was only a slip up the first time, that he would admit, and now he was telling Megatron for Starscream's own good. If it meant there was a lesser chance of Starscream getting hurt when he came back then he would tell Megatron anything! And if TC didn't understand that, then he would damn sure _make _him understand! With that thought lodged in his processor, he stood and directed a wave of insults at Thundercracker, wings pointed out aggressively and teeth bared.

"You're the idiot TC! I'm only acting in Starscream's best interest, after all I'm his best friend, not you! You're just a stupid, stuck up, controlling fragger who thinks you're his father or something! Well you know what, you need to stop, Starscream doesn't want you to be a total aft about any of this and you know it! You're just too thick-headed to believe that someone else actually cares about him!" The violet and black seeker screamed, threatening to pounce on his wingmate at any moment and initiate a fight that would inevitably end with someone being sent to the med bay.

Seeing this Megatron stepped toward the two arguing jets, much to the displeasure of Soundwave who knew exactly how violent seekers could get. The warlord had no intentions of cleaning a bloodbath on the floor of his quarters, nor hauling the morons out after they had torn each other to shreds. And besides, two dead seekers just wouldn't do.

However, before the Decepticon leader could even get near the two, another round of squabbling began.

"You don't care about him as much as I do! I practically raised him Skywarp, ever since he was just a sparkling, that's more than you can say! You didn't even meet me until you were in the flight academy, and I never let you see Starscream until after the first semester! You have no idea what he's been through and no idea what you're doing by running your mouth to mechs who have no business knowing!" Thundercracker countered, seething hatred pouring off of him in waves as he also stood, wings nearly parallel to one another in a mirror image of Skywarp's own aggression. He was fully prepared to kill his wingmate should it benefit the younger of the three.

Finally, after the two glared each other down for what seemed like hours, Skywarp straightened himself and sighed, "Okay, you win." He smiled with a vindictive glint in his scarlet optics, "But uh, I guess it also wouldn't be too smart of an idiot like myself to tell Starscream's biggest secret in front of Megs now would it?" He asked, childishly entailing that he had another little tattle up his sleeve.

Thundercracker had a baffled look on his face, his optics widening in surprise at the new information. _Another secret?_

Skywarp smiled, clearly tasting victory, "Oh it's nothing really, just something that Star told me one night when we were both overenergized on high grade, a secret that he'd been keeping from everyone! Well, until he told me that is!" He hinted, sticking his nose in the air arrogantly, "His _best _friend!"

He then turned to his leader, smiling at Megatron deviously, "He told me that he has a crush on you! He's had it ever since he first met you! Yep, there it is, he likes you! A lot by the way, cause when he told me he couldn't stop listing things that he liked about you, it got kind of annoying after a minute but I didn't care, I thought it was cute!" He admitted as Megatron looked at him with a slightly curious expression, mulling over the news with interest.

So, Starscream did have feelings for him? Well that was a good thing, wonderful in fact, at least now he would have something to act on instead of merely taking a shot in the dark. He could earn his second's trust, then allow for his own emotions, however embarrassing they were, to be shown to the seeker in return. He couldn't help but think that so much time had been wasted between them, ever since they first met they had felt sparks fly, but neither had ever acted on it. They were both either too prideful or too unsure.

But now, things would change.

After having nearly lost Starscream there wasn't a chance in hell that he'd hold back on what he felt. As soon as the seeker was back in his arms, he would make Starscream his. A beautiful, talented, powerful young mech such as Starscream would make the best lover any mech could ask for, and if he was completely loyal…well, the very idea was enough to make Megatron's spark skip a beat in anticipation. Starscream, loyal. The very picture of cold, calculated prowess. Deadly, accurate, dangerously intriguing, brilliant, wondrous, _perfect!_

There were too many words to describe him and not nearly enough time. And though there were many things that the Decepticon leader identified that he felt for his second, one particular unlabeled emotion was strikingly and almost annoyingly prominent.

He would tell Starscream in due time however.

Thundercracker yelled in outrage and launched himself forward, tackling Skywarp to the floor and commencing with trying to strangle the other seeker, instantly drawing Megatron's attention back to reality.

The teleport struggled to form words as he was violently shaken, but he eventually managed to push Thundercracker away for enough time to blurt out an embarrassing secret of his own. "I told him _I _had a crush on you! So it's not like he was alone or anything!" Skywarp howled, trying to prevent his friend from ripping him apart.

Thundercracker stopped abruptly, looking down at Skywarp with an incredulous expression that looked as if his entire processor had stalled. "R-really?" He asked, a little flattered at the fact that his wingmate admired on him such a level. He had always suspected it seeing as how Skywarp was always with him, smiling and cutting up and being completely carefree, comfortable with the fact that Thundercracker would always protect him from potentially murderous prank-victims. Soundwave excluded, he never attempted an assassination on the dark seeker, instead he merely gave him extra work, and in that case Thundercracker could do nothing. But most of the time, he was Skywarp's greatest form of protection and best friend.

Currently, said mech was blushing as he was pinned to the floor of his leader's quarters by an overly surprised Thundercracker. He slowly nodded, averting his gaze in embarrassment, "Yeah, I've kinda had a crush on you since we joined the Decepticons and all…I dunno why, I mean other than the fact that you're brave and stuff, well that and Starscream kept trying to set me up with you! It's all his fault, the little fragger kept pointing out a bunch of good qualities about you! It was only a matter of time really!" He said almost defensively as he pushed against his friend to make him get up. Thundercracker stood and offered a hand to the other seeker, which Skywarp gladly took and hauled himself up, dusting himself off and fanning his wings with pride. "You shoulda known! After all, someone special like me was bound to end up with you anyways!"

Megatron snorted inattentively from where he stood annoyed by the two seekers, "You're pretty damned special alright…" He growled under his breath, earning a glare from Skywarp, a slightly humored expression from Thundercracker, and a stoically unmoved Soundwave.

Thundercracker reverted his attention to Skywarp, "I guess you're right…we'll talk about it later, and now back to _you_!" He switched his gaze to the Decepticon commander, optics slightly narrowing.

"If you want a chance with Starscream, you have to earn our approval!"

Megatron crossed his arms over his broad chest, looking the very picture of composure. He curled his lips into a snarl menacingly, "I called you here for advice on how best to interact with Starscream about this _problem_, not for your approval soldier!" He warned, clearly angered by Thundercracker's statement.

However, the seeker wasn't daunted, he simply stood his ground and smirked. "Our approval is the only way that Starscream will even consider you." He informed the gladiator, clearly having an advantage. "You see, in Vos, a mech's creators choose who he is to bond with, however if something happens to their creators then that will leave them to make the decision themselves. _Unless _they have an older trinemate, at which point all decisions regarding interfacing, spark-merging and bonding are passed along to him. So, it's up to me whether or not Starscream can become involved with you, if I feel that being around you in such a manner is hazardous to his health then I won't allow it, unless of course you can prove yourself to me, which you haven't done too good a job of in these past few millennia…" The flier watched as Megatron's angered expression turned murderous, his fists clenching and unclenching in frustration.

Thundercracker continued, "Of course, there was a mech back on Cybertron who had once inquired about bonding with him…perhaps, if you feel that treating him with a little kindness will be too great a task, I could always contact that mech and let him know that Starscream is available, at the perfect age to bond in fact! Won't he be so pleased with that news?"

The threat hit Megatron harder than a punch to the face. His optics widened in disbelief, mouth agape as his thoughts tried to protest the idea of another mech bonding with _his _Starscream and taking him away from him forever. He turned to Soundwave, seeking backup, and the monotonous navy blue mech entered the argument confidently.

"Objection: Thundercracker would not force Starscream to bond with a mech he has no feelings for. Suggestion: Megatron and Thundercracker should put their differences aside for Starscream's best interest." He stated, hands clasped behind his back and stance betraying nothing.

Thundercracker puffed himself up in defense, "Oh yeah! I would if it meant he wouldn't get the slag beat out of him every day for the rest of his life! Besides, the only differences we have is that I actually care about Starscream and he doesn't!" He shrieked, nearly to the point of flipping out on his leader. Skywarp held him back however, wrapping his arms around Thundercracker's waist and hugging him so that he would calm down. Thankfully, the blue seeker didn't move, though he remained glaring at Megatron.

Soundwave spoke once again, trying to prevent any more tension from rearing up between the two. "Megatron: Cares more for Starscream than he is able to comprehend. Fact: He doesn't wish to harm Starscream anymore, realization of his feelings for the seeker will prevent him from harming him in future activities. Thundercracker: Fears losing Starscream; Fears that Starscream will no longer need him; Fears that Starscream will no longer need his trine; Fears that Megatron will abuse Starscream; Fears that Starscream will be killed. Statement: Thundercracker's fears are irrational, Megatron's intentions are solely on repairing the relationship he has with his Second In Command. Statement: Harming Starscream would only prove to be an obstacle to his goals." The telepath explained accurately, extracting thoughts from both his leader and the overprotective seeker that he was confronted with. He waited for a response from either one of the two hostile mechs, but neither of them spoke. Thundercracker's gaze had somewhat softened, optics no longer burning holes through Megatron's head, and the same could be said for the Decepticon commander. It seemed that Soundwave's mediation had allowed for both of them to see exactly what the other was thinking, bringing all of the problems into the open.

A heavy silence was left to hang in the room, permeating through the already tense atmosphere between the four mechs. It was as if a shroud had enveloped them all and suffocated their harsh quips and squabbling, forcing them to rethink their approaches on the touchy situation. Each of their views had been made public by Soundwave, allowing them to contemplate the implications of a compromise. Thundercracker could easily admit that he feared for Starscream's safety should he become involved on a romantic level with Megatron, but then again, didn't he have every right to? After all, Megatron was the ruthless leader of the Decepticons, the Slag Maker, a feared gladiator and harsh conqueror renowned for his cruelty. He would have to be completely apathetic to not be concerned for the younger seeker. Not to mention the two already didn't get along, they argued constantly, even if Starscream never was serious about overthrowing him. Of course, Megatron had already been thinking this fact over, and being the ever so clever leader that he was he had already come up with a solution. There would be a way to have Starscream and also keep others from trying to take over once he stopped attacking the seeker, for what he now to be acts of protection and _not _assassination.

Finally, after the unnecessarily drawn out silence, Megatron spoke, his tone level and calm. "Thundercracker, I believe that nothing will be settled in my Second's best interest if we aren't getting along…" He began with his most convincing smile spread across his faceplates. "So, to show you exactly how kind I can be, I am sending you and Skywarp to attend to Starscream while he recovers. That means that the two of you don't have to worry about your duties here, nor do you have to worry about his wellbeing. You can simply keep an eye on him and report to me occasionally until he's well enough to return." He informed the two stunned seekers, motioning for Soundwave to open the doors of his quarters and escort them out.

Thundercracker's face was a mask of surprise and confusion as he walked slowly to the exit of the room, "But why? If you wanted to check on him all you have to do is contact the Ark." The blue seeker said in slight suspicion, earning a frown from Megatron.

The Decepticon commander sighed in a bored manner and waved his hand dismissively, "Starscream will recover faster if he has the two of you with him, I know that he cares deeply for both of you imbeciles and if it brings him back to me quicker then who am I to keep you here?" He questioned rhetorically, "I'll hail the Ark and inform Prime that you two will be there within the breem."

At that Skywarp hurried his friend from the room and into the dark halls of the Nemesis, where their leader's frighteningly calm gaze couldn't see them. When he was sure that no one was looking he grabbed Thundercracker's hand and intertwined their fingers lovingly. "You know, perhaps he isn't really that bad…he might actually be good to Starscream." The dark flier tried to convince his slightly older counterpart. Thundercracker, though wanting desperately to believe the words, was still very doubtful. But nonetheless he allowed Skywarp to teleport them from the base and into the dazzling blue sky above the ocean, where they effortlessly transformed and took off in the direction of the Autobots base.

-…-…-…-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...-...

Long update is ….

Lol so…I haven't updated in like forever…but now I have! So it's okay right? Okay! Yay!

You can blame everything on a fic I read that gave me nightmares, the name of said fic will not be released on the count that I've been trying to purge all memory of it from my mind! The attempts however have been futile. DAMN YOU EVIL FIC!

Oh, and my anonymous reviewer who is a M/SS fan! Don't worry! The smut's not gonna be between Optimus and Starscream! Pffft, I would rather give a genie a blowjob! *for any genies reading that doesn't mean you're getting lucky so forget about it! I don't provide services for blue men with turbans!* Well unless you're Blurr in a turban in which case I'll make an exception.

Anyways! I will try to post chapter 10 soon but with exams coming up I dunno how long "soon" will be…PLEASE DON'T HIT ME WITH WRENCHES IF IT TAKES AS LONG AS IT DID FOR THIS CHAPTER! I have a wrench-phobia *cries in corner*


	10. Chapter 10

Nyah! Hi everyone, **Random523 **here! I just wanted to say thank you so much to all my reviewers! It's because of you guys that I've made it so far in this fic and I greatly appreciate you all! Grimmy my friend, you especially have been my greatest inspiration to continue writing! *glomps you* I love you I love you I love you!

There will lots of flashbacks in this chapter so yeah…I was in a flashbacky kind of mood!

BTW! Any text italicized in bulk is a flashback/dream! O.O

Ahem, so anyways, on to the fic!

The massive doors of the Ark began to slide open with a sound reminiscent of metal thunder, shifting to opposite sides of the ship's entrance and shaking red dust from the surrounding volcano.

Within the Ark, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Skyfire, Bumblebee and Prowl stood waiting for the two seekers who were landing outside. Megatron had contacted them earlier and informed the Autobot leader that he was sending Starscream's trine, not as a threat, but as help to the medic and Starscream's recovery. Prime had already decided that it wasn't a problem, knowing that Seeker trines had close bonds with one another that would be vital for the other's wellbeing.

The others waited with their leader for the simple fact that after millennia of war, no one could be trusted. Even if they had been assured by Primus himself, they still wouldn't allow the seekers to roam the Ark unattended to.

Thundercracker transformed into his bipedal mode and kept his thrusters on a medium setting, lowering himself to the ground in a flurry of air and sand clouds. When he touched down he shook the dust off of his armor and splayed his wings, waiting for Skywarp to land as well.

The dark seeker did a few acrobatic loops in the air, being much showier that his complacent counterpart, before transforming and falling swiftly to the ground, landing on his friend who managed a surprised "Oof!" and sending both of them flying. They rolled in a mech-ball for about twenty seconds before landing at the entrance of the Ark in a heap of dusty, dirty growling. Thundercracker unfortunately ended up beneath the clumsier of the two, pinned under his still-dizzy wingmate. How humiliating.

Optimus looked down at them with a raised optic-ridge, trying to decide whether to laugh or shake his head at the two strange Cybertronians. He vaguely heard Ironhide lean over to Jazz and whisper, "Just think, _this _is what we've been fightin' all these years."

The saboteur giggled until Prowl glared at him sternly.

Thundercracker peered up at Optimus with a slightly embarrassed look on his face, trying to push his wingmate off of him and save what little bit of pride he had left. However, Skywarp seemed distracted and simply sat up on his friend's back, extending his hand happily to the leader of the opposite faction. Not once did a single hint of fear show itself on the flier's face, "Hiya Optimus! Nice um…volcano? I like it! It seems homey!" The violet and black seeker smiled widely, grabbing the larger mech's hand and shaking it with as much energy as was possible.

The blue and red mech remained silent and simply waited for the seeker to stop acting erratically, no matter how many times he had read of seekers in ancient archives - and he had done so, many, many times - he never did really understand them. Skywarp least of all.

Finally the hyper mech released his hand and stood up, hands on his hips, scrutinizing as he observed the other Autobots who had accompanied their leader. All of them looked as if they were about to attack him, except for Jazz and Prowl, the saboteur was smiling and waving, and Prowl was merely standing with his arms crossed over his chest, completely absent of emotion. But, with a quick sweep of the mechs once more, his red optics finally made contact with a set of light blue ones, an unsure sense to them. "_You_." Skywarp hissed at the larger flier, preparing himself to pounce at the mech. Unknown to him, however, Thundercracker chose that exact moment to stand up, causing his wingmate to topple backwards and land in the red dirt of the surrounding desert once again.

The more level-headed seeker gathered his pride and stood with his nose in the air, "Optimus Prime sir, it's nice to see you again. Now, if you wouldn't mind forgiving my clumsy wingmate I would like to see Starscream." He announced formally, bowing courteously to the noble mech to show respect and subordination. Though the very idea of being beneath an Autobot was nearly sickening to him, he wasn't about to let a simple thing like throwing insults ruin his chances to see and take care of his young friend. And so, he knew that he would have to set all of his Decepticon ideals aside as soon as he entered the Autobots' base. At least it was something he was prepared to do.

Optimus regarded the blue seeker with a polite nod, motioning for him to enter and make his way to the med bay. Skywarp quickly got up and followed after his trinemate, both seekers glaring at Skyfire as they passed him and headed down the yellow-orange halls of the foreign command center.

Ironhide noticed and patted the shuttle's arm, "Give 'em time big guy, they'll forgive ya eventually." He said comfortingly. Skyfire faked a smile and hung his head in shame, he doubted that they ever would, even he couldn't forgive himself.

Thundercracker was the first to reach the med bay, patiently allowing the doors to slide open before he stepped in and examined the room. After a moment he spotted who he was looking for, still unconscious on the operating table.

He rushed over to his trine leader and buried his face in the other seeker's neck, Skywarp rushing in after him to do the same on his leader's other side. The violet seeker hadn't seen Starscream since before he was injured on the battlefield, and joy overwhelmed him at the sight of the younger mech alive and unscathed. He thought he'd never see Starscream again, but now he was lovingly nuzzling the young mech's neck as if he hadn't seen him in years. Finally, both conscious seekers felt complete again, having the missing piece to their complex and tribal puzzle with them once again. All three of them were together, and until Starscream was capable of coming back to the Nemesis with them, they wouldn't be leaving the Ark.

Thundercracker looked up when he heard soft chuckling coming from the direction of the medicine closet. "I thought you'd be back." A gruff voice humored, and unsurprisingly when the blue seeker spotted the voice's owner he was only able to go to the mech and lift him off of the ground happily. "Ratchet! Boy am I glad to see you!" He smiled, crushing the medic in a hug capable of snapping the mech in half. The older bot groaned and tensely poked Thundercracker on the shoulder, "N-nice to see you too TC, now…erk…please put me down before ow! Before you kill me!" Ratchet pleaded.

Thundercracker set him back on the ground and patted his helm fondly, "Have you been taking care of him like you promised? Oh who am I kidding, of course you have!" He beamed, resisting the urge to pick the medic up once more and squeeze his spark out. He owed so much to Ratchet for saving Starscream's life, and for providing such wonderful hospitality even though he had heard so many terrible stories of the medic's wrath! Something about The Hatchet's bad temper and other such things. To him, those stories were all completely idiotic. Ratchet was a wonderful mech, a truly wonderful mech. He had saved Starscream's life more than just once, and had offered Skywarp and him refuge once after the Vos bombing.

If only he could see from the twins' point of view!

Ratchet smirked and shrugged his shoulders indifferently, "Yeah well, I've been doing all I can. He's stabilized at least and his vitals haven't changed since the incident, though his temperature spikes occasionally. It's easily controllable though." He informed Thundercracker, pointing to the unconscious seeker on the operating table every now and then to emphasize certain things.

Skywarp still had his face buried in Starscream's neck, only moving to fervently kiss his trine leader's cheek every now and then.

The mechs who had followed the two Decepticons to the med bay looked at the dark flier curiously.

"Is Skywarp his lover?" Bumblebee asked as he tilted his head to Prowl, genuinely engrossed in the strange scene of affection.

Prowl frowned at the young mech, though not angrily, and simply replied "Seekers have a very different culture than other Cybertronians, Bumblebee. Within a trine, behaviors like this are merely signs of caring for one another in a brotherly manner. Interfacing and caressing one another's wings are also common practice among seekers. Starscream and Skywarp are wingmates, so what he is exemplifying is that he cares for Starscream, he's not entailing that he sees him as a lover." Prowl explained, frown eventually transitioning into a smile as he watched Bumblebee nod and return his gaze to the seekers once more, curiously thinking what other strange things were different about Seeker culture.

Skywarp saw Ratchet talking to Thundercracker, and naturally he wondered what it was they were discussing. He kissed Starscream's cheek once more before walking around the operating table to join the two. He vaguely noticed Optimus Prime take his spot at his trinemate's side, stroking his cheek with care. This worried Skywarp to no end.

Thundercracker had just finished stating that he was very grateful when Skywarp squeezed in between the two and faced the medic. "He's gonna be okay right?" He asked pleadingly, red optics wide with both fear and hope as he practically begged the medic for the answer to be yes.

Ratchet, though a bit surprised by Thundercracker's companion, nodded nonetheless. "Of course, Starscream's a surprisingly quick healer, his systems are all running efficiently and his internal repairs are extremely sufficient. I don't see any reason why he wouldn't be okay." He comforted the panicking flier, not being able to fathom any reason why _his _patient wouldn't be okay. He didn't know how good of a medic Hook was, but Ratchet rarely ever lost a mech in his med bay, and he wasn't about to ruin that starting with Starscream.

However, Skywarp got close to the medic's audio and hissed his very specific concern. "What about _Skyfire_?"

Ratchet snapped his head around to see the larger flier standing uncertainly in the doorway, hands at his sides and gaze solely on Starscream. It was visible just by his facial expression that he was ashamed of himself for what he had done to the young seeker.

Despite that fact though, Ratchet wasn't about to anger the two guests by denying to remove Skyfire from the med bay. After all, he could see the logic in why they were uncomfortable having him around.

The white and red mech left his newly dubbed "kids" as he had called them all back in Vos, and walked purposefully to Skyfire, pulling him out into the hall gently.

The shuttle looked confused at first, though after hearing Ratchet sigh and tilt his head back towards the med bay, he knew why he was being forced to leave.

"I'm so sorry for what I did Ratchet…I never wanted to hurt him, you know that…" He apologized as his gaze fell to the floor in sadness. All he had wanted to do was get Starscream to see that he was better off leaving the Decepticons. He only wanted his beloved to come back to the Autobots with him so that he could see how much he'd be appreciated, supported, loved…

He had always hated watching Megatron blame failures on the seeker, knowing that none of it was ever his fault. But what angered him even more was the approving glances and lustful looks that the Decepticon leader would give _his _Starscream. The slagger didn't even know Starscream that well, he had no right to gaze upon the seeker in any such manner as that, nor did he have the right to lay his hands on him, whether he was abusing him or not.

But then…hadn't he just done the same thing? He admired his previous lover countless times on the battlefield for the cruel, incredibly beautiful predator that he was, and now he had also abused him…he was no better than Megatron.

Ratchet gave the white mech a sorrowful look, "Maybe if you give them a few days to adjust…I mean Starscream will wake up in a week's time at the most, if he forgives you then they will too! But until then," He began to encourage.

Skyfire simply nodded, interrupting the medic from speaking further, "I'll stay away Ratch…I don't want to hurt him any more than I already have. He probably thinks I'm a monster. Just like Megatron."

With that he turned and walked down the hall, rounding a corner before Ratchet could try and convince him otherwise.

With another sigh the white and red mech entered the med bay once more, shaking his head in slight frustration. He didn't want Skyfire to feel like a stranger in his own base, but he knew that he couldn't risk a fight between him and Starscream's trine. There was absolutely no doubt that if Skyfire dared to step a pede in the med bay that Thundercracker and Skywarp would kill him on sight. They would take no chances on Starscream being injured once more.

He walked back to the two Decepticons, both of them looking at him appreciatively and affectionately. Ratchet was glad that they trusted him, even though they were still a little wary of the others.

Skywarp drew the medic close once more and in a barely audible whisper voiced another concern, "Now what about _him?_" He asked, gaze darting to where Optimus was still lovingly stroking the unconscious seeker's cheek. Upon seeing this Ratchet was a bit surprised, but he had noticed the behavior before and it really didn't bother him. Optimus didn't mean any harm anyways.

He merely shrugged, "Prime won't hurt him, I think he's more intrigued by Starscream than anything." Ratchet offered, hoping that it would ease Skywarp's worries, even if only a little bit.

Thankfully, the violet and black seeker seemed to leave it at that, though he never really took his eyes off of the Autobot leader and his wingmate.

Thundercracker seemed not to pay much attention to the strange scene, instead choosing to go to Ratchet's desk and take a seat, roaming trough different medical files that the white and red mech had recently filled out. He found nothing too alarming besides the incident when Starscream had woke up from the low dosage of anesthetics and sedatives. Thank Primus that now he was under enough of the stuff that he wouldn't wake up for a while.

It did seem however, that Ratchet had made a note to himself on one of the many datapads. Thundercracker scanned the contents quickly, a little surprised at what he found, though not as angry as he thought he'd be about anyone pondering such things. He decided that he would bring it up to the medic later.

Jazz walked over and hit the blue seeker upside the back of the helm in a friendly manner, "Wassup T?" He asked coolly, normal smile on his face like always.

Thundercracker, despite ignoring his natural instinct to hit the mech back, simply replied with the nicest smile he could manage at the moment. "Hello Jazz, it's nice to see you again." He stated, not really lying since he didn't mind being around the Porsche, the only mechs he was genuinely unsure of were Prowl and Ironhide.

Ratchet was like a mentor to him, Skywarp was his wingmate, Jazz was his friend, Optimus was indifferent, and Bumblebee went relatively unnoticed. But Prowl, his harsh and logical gaze felt like it was scrutinizing every move he made, piercing through his helm and into his mind like Soundwave's telepathy skills on steroids. Ironhide was possibly worse, the old mech just kept staring at him like he was some kind of strange blue target, grunting occasionally and pointing his cannon at him before chuckling to himself and lowering it.

Jazz noticed that he was reviewing the medical files, despite his cool and interested/easily distracted nature, he was actually quite observant. "You worry too much, Starscream's fine with us man. It's not like we're gonna let the twins near him or anything, and the worst they could do was paint him pink or somethin…" at that he paused for a moment to think that over. "Aight I'll be first to admit that his color ain't really pink! White, blue and red suits him pretty good though, that purple insignia kinda clashes though." Jazz continued, style obsessed as he was.

Thundercracker growled quietly, "Starscream is proud of the insignias he wears. Being a Decepticon is practically all he can remember." The blue seeker spat, continuing over the data pads and hinting for Jazz to leave him be. The saboteur seemed to see this and patted the mech on the shoulder, "I wasn't sayin he wasn't, I just don't agree with putting red and purple together! You should really read Cosmo Magazine, it tells you everything about what colors go together and don't!" He said with a quick smile before heading off to find Sunstreaker and discuss clashing colors with him, that mech was game for anything concerning what looked good and what didn't.

The oldest of the trine looked over to where Optimus remained by Starscream's side, caught in a trance while looking at the small seeker. Skywarp was a few feet away from Starscream's other side, glaring at the Autobot leader and watching him closely, making sure that he didn't do anything.

If Optimus was even contemplating what Thundercracker thought he was, then he would definitely inform the mech of what was on his mind. He would rather Starscream be with Megatron than an Autobot, at least then he wouldn't have to worry about his wingmate defecting.

After a few hours only Ratchet, Skywarp and Thundercracker remained in the med bay, chatting about random things and monitoring their patient.

The medic looked exhausted, it was obvious that he hadn't had any recharge in days, and Thundercracker was on the verge of forcing the mech from his own med bay to go sleep. He had stayed up with Starscream for as long as the young seeker had been there, and he had ignored his own needs in favor of making sure that everything stayed stable. The blue seeker truly felt sympathy for him.

He had relinquished the medic's desk back to him a wile ago, and it had been a good twenty minutes since anyone had talked. Skywarp had fallen asleep with his chin resting on Starscream's stomach, a chair pulled up beside his trinemate's berth.

Thundercracker smiled happily to himself, seeing Skywarp back to his normal, loving self was a relief after nearly losing the dark seeker to insanity. He loved Skywarp, he had for a long time, though he had never told the other, too afraid that the war would claim one of their lives and leave them sparkbroken. He knew that Skywarp knew he loved him though, and when the war was over then he planned on bonding with him. Or, if something else traumatizing happened then he would bond with him to preserve his mental health.

The blue seeker sighed, sitting on Ratchet's desk and looking at the medic expectantly.

Ratchet cocked an optic ridge and eyed the seeker as well, "What's wrong kid?"

Thundercracker shrugged and pointed to the data pad he had read earlier, "You have a question for me." He stated simply, waiting for Ratchet to recognize what he had been wondering earlier.

And, as expected, the medic expressed an "Oh!" of remembrance and began immediately.

"When I looked for all of his previous medical records I could only find them dating as far back to when he joined the Flight Academy in Vos and the Science Academy. There was nothing before that, no records of where he came from, who his creators were, or even who he was. Starscream didn't exist before the Flight Academy Thundercracker, and personally, that confuses the hell out of me. I want to know who he really is." He explained curiously, genuinely concerned with the situation of how a mech he knew so well was practically inexistent before he was a youngling.

Thundercracker smiled faintly, sadly. It was a long set of information that he had been unprepared to ever bring up, least of all to tell to an Autobot. No one had ever asked the question of where Starscream had come from, no one had ever been so concerned, even Hook had never asked. With a sigh the blue seeker finally relented, pulling up the memory file he then began to tell the medic the entire, complicated story.

_He was walking through an alleyway towards his dorm, having just finished buying a few cubes of energon for the night. Unfortunately, the Flight Academy didn't provide students with free energon, and so, if one was hungry, then they had to travel off campus and into Vos' market to seek nourishment there. _

_He could feel his empty tanks growling hungrily, needing energy soon. He had gone all day without a single thing, and now he was paying for it, he was starving! He couldn't wait to get back to his dorm and greedily devour every last one of the cubes he had just purchased. Oh and he would thoroughly enjoy them, down to the very last drop!_

_Just as he was nearing the end of the alley, which he had found to be a convenient shortcut, he heard a soft whimpering sound from nearby. _

_He stopped dead in his tracks, falling completely silent, his senses heightening in alarm._

_Again, a small noise graced his audios, sounding utterly tiny, helpless and scared. _

_He subspaced his energon and began looking around quickly, turning over boxes and crates and searching behind every crack he came across. Nothing turned up, until…_

_A small box that had been sat behind a few others emitted the noise once more, and he jumped at the thing. _

_Carefully, he kneeled down and pried the box open, not knowing what to expect. And as soon as he viewed its contents he gasped in disbelief. _

_There, curled into a tiny, shaking ball, was a small seeker sparkling. Completely abandoned. _

_He observed it momentarily, trying to ebb away some of the shock of the situation. He had never thought he'd find a sparkling before, especially not one so…well, tiny. _

_It was tricolored, red, white and blue to be specific, and looked as if it had been taken rather good care of, despite the fact that he was alone in an alley. What was strange was that Thundercracker came through this alleyway everyday and he had never heard the sparkling make a noise before. So there was no way that it had been here long._

_The little seekerlet was looking up at him with scared blue optics, completely innocent and unknowing as to whether the mech who had found him was friend or foe. It was obvious that he was born of noble lineage judging by the pristine golden crest resembling a flame lying next to him in the box. Clearly it was the crest of the Goldenfire Clan, a wealthy family of seekers who were part of Vos' hierarchy. So why would a Goldenfire sparkling be abandoned in an alleyway? _

_It was then that he noticed a note lying beneath the crest. He picked it up and read it quickly. _

"_To whoever finds this may I first beg of you to protect and care for my precious son. I realize that it is cruel of me to simply discard him in a alleyway as if he weren't wanted but may I assure you that I love him with all of my spark…however, I have recently found out about a grim event to come that I will not subject my child to. My clan is to be eradicated upon the following morn. _

_He has been in this alleyway for no more than a few breems if you have found him already Thundercracker. _

_I know you rather well, your father is a wonderful friend of mine…was a wonderful friend of mine. I trust you with him, please treat him as if he were your own, you're such a wonderful young mech, I know that you'll be everything he needs. _

_His name is Skyblazer, but for his safety I beg that you change it, if he is ever discovered then he'll be killed as well as the rest of our clan. _

_Thank you Thundercracker, he's yours now. Your sparkling._

_Sincerely, Shootingstar." _

_He almost couldn't believe it. Shootingstar, ruler of Vos, had entrusted _him _with his sparkling. The newborn prince of Vos. _

_It was like a dream, a hazy, confusing dream that he was tempted to simply cast away and declare as a strange paradox. And yet there he was, Skyblazer. A living, breathing sparkling. _

_Carefully, he reached into the box and picked the tiny being up, nearly fitting him into the palm of his hands. Seeker sparklings were very small, they had to be because of the compact gestation chambers of their creators. Seekers weren't like ground mechs, they were all curves and aerodynamics, small. So too were their offspring. _

_As he watched the small seekerlet stare up at him with huge optics so full of innocence, he couldn't help but feel a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He had been entrusted to care for him, the prince of Vos…he felt his pride swell at that, never had such an honor been bestowed upon him. _

"_So," He smiled, lifting the sparkling to view and admiring him. "You're Skyblazer." _

_The seekerlet chirped at its name, reaching tiny hands out as Thundercracker went to poke its stomach experimentally. Teeny digits wrapped around his index finger and pulled it into its mouth, sucking on it for distraction as most infants did. _

"_Well I'll admit, you're pretty adorable." He laughed softly, then he remembered that the little one had been in the alley nearly all day. "I'll bet you're hungry huh?" _

_The sparkling simply looked at him, never releasing his finger. _

"_Okay then. Let's get you home and I'll warm some energon up for you, that should do just fine." Thundercracker smiled, nuzzling the sparkling's tiny helm lovingly. He knew how to care for sparklings, having taken care of four younger siblings, one a few millennia younger than him, and the other three newly born when he was still a youngling. He had been like a babysitter to them, seeing as how his creators were usually attending to business and had no time for him or the others. He considered himself to be experienced, well, _experienced _was an understatement, he was practically a parent four times over. Taking care of one little seekerlet was going to be much easier than caring for three at a time. _

_He cradled the small form against his canopy, taking the note and the Goldenfire crest with him as he hurried back to the Flight Academy. He would have to hide the infant from his superiors, and everyone else for that matter, but that would be no problem seeing as how he didn't have a roommate and the Dean believed in privacy. _

_The only problem that he foresaw was naming the little mech. _

_Once he reached the Academy he rushed straight to his dorm, running past Cumulus and Acid Rain as the two mechs tried to stop him to talk. He really hoped that he hadn't offended them, but he couldn't let them see his sparkling for fear that they wouldn't be able to keep a secret, which he really doubted they could._

_When he was safely inside he engaged the locking mechanism and went to his berth, sitting the sparkling down carefully. The tiny seekerlet fanned its wings and yawned, obviously sleepy. He laughed softly at the cute sight, kneeling down so that he could be optic level with the sparkling. It seemed complacent enough, simply looking at him with its eyes half closed and an exhausted expression on its face. "You've had a rough day huh little guy?" He asked rhetorically, leaning forward to nuzzle the sparkling's stomach. It cooed softly and hugged onto his face, nuzzling his forehead affectionately as if he were its parent. _

_At that Thundercracker pulled away and stood up, walking to the compact storage container he kept in his room and pulling the energon he had bought from subspace. He placed a few of the cubes inside but kept one out, taking it and walking back over to the sparkling. Laying nearby on a table was a welder, he had previously used it when he had made a mistake and barrel-rolled instead of looping while flying, resulting in him doing a direct nosedive into a nearby skyscraper. It had taken him weeks to repair his cockpit. He turned the welder on and held it underneath the cube for only a few seconds, successfully warming it up without causing it to explode. After that was done he presented it to the little being who was watching him with interest. _

_The sparkling looked at the cube, which was larger than him, and then looked back up at Thundercracker. _

_The blue mech sighed and kneeled down once more, pushing the cube towards the sparkling. And again, the sparkling turned his nose up at it. _

"_Oh c'mon! You're hungry and you know it!" He said a bit frustrated, "What's wrong? Is it not the expensive stuff you're used to? Well if that's what you want then you have another thing coming, I can't afford the best of the best so this is it!" _

_With that said the sparkling narrowed its optics and grudgingly stuck its tiny hand into the cube, taking the wet appendage out and shoving it into his mouth, all the while glaring at Thundercracker. _

_The adolescent seeker simply stood up and patted the infant's helm, "Good boy Skyblazer." He smiled, pleased the sparkling was at least easy to get along with. but then caught himself. _

_He had to come up with a new name, before he got used to the one the sparkling currently had. _

_It was going to be hard, he had never named anything before besides the petro-gerbil his parents had gotten him when he was a child. May Mr. Squiggles rest in peace. Well, pieces…_

_He looked at the tiny mech as it continued to glare at him, angry about the energon but even angrier about having to repeatedly shove its hand into its mouth. The sparkling did have a striking similarity to Shootingstar. Their colors were nearly the same, except for the infant's dark face and blue optics, along with the yellow stripes around its thrusters. _

_He thought for a moment, having part of Shootingstar's name in the sparkling's new name would be a way to remember the mech, why his entire clan was going to be killed was still beyond Thundercracker, but it was probably best not to ask questions. _

"_Alright, how about we keep the star part and then come up with something else to go behind it." He suggested to the sparkling, who looked at him a bit confused and then pushed the cube off of the berth, not meaning to since he was actually reaching for Thundercracker._

_The energon landed on the floor and spilled across the metal-tile surface in a fluorescent wave, immediately causing Thundercracker to jump back a little in surprise. _

"_Oh no Star! Look at what you did!" He yelled, running to a cabinet and grabbing a towel to clean the mess with, "Why would you do that?" He asked a bit irately, kneeling down to begin wiping the energon up as the sparkling had a stunned look on its face. Obviously it had never been yelled at before, and when Thundercracker raised his voice it made a slight hiccupping sound. And then, unfortunately for Thundercracker, the sparkling let out a loud cry that was more than capable of breaking glass. _

_The blue seeker covered his audios and flinched at the sheer intensity of the wail, he had never heard something so loud before at such a close proximity. _

_With a wave of his hands he tried to get the infant to stop crying, but it seemed not to understand that he wasn't angry anymore. _

"_Please stop crying! I'm sorry!" Thundercracker begged, making an attempt to pick the startled sparkling up, but when he did the tiny seekerlet immediately screamed louder before biting his finger, hard. _

_He yelped in pain and tried to pull his hand back, but the sparkling refused to let go, simply making angry little sounds and crying at the same time, tears running down its face. _

_Thundercracker felt bad for the little seekerlet, knowing that he had frightened him, and so he tried as carefully as possible to remove his hand from the infant's mouth without hurting either of them. Luckily, the sparkling relented, glaring at him and scooting backwards on the berth. _

_Thundercracker inspected his hand for a moment, he had bit down hard enough to draw blood, great. _

"_Geez kid, you sure can bite…you're a little screamer too!" He said a little spitefully, earning a hiss from his previous attacker as it scooted farther back on the berth, finally stopping when it hit the wall. _

"_Hey that's it, I've got a name for you now!" He said suddenly, "I'll call you Starscream! Yeah, that's perfect!" _

_The sparkling tilted its head in confusion, not understanding what the mech had just told him. However, it didn't want to be yelled at again and just admitted a small "Nyah!" before curling into a ball and staring at Thundercracker wearily. _

_Even if it would take a while for Starscream to learn his new name, he was willing to wait, after all, he would be raising him from now on. _

_A few hours passed by while Thundercracker cleaned up a few messes here and there, making sure that his quarters were spotless and sparkling-proof. He had also busied himself with turning his overly large closet into an extra room, complete with a small berth he had fitted raised edges to, basically resembling a crib. After the sparkling got used to him he would allow it to sleep in the crib, but until then he wouldn't dare to take his eyes off of him. _

_After he had finished everything he yawned tiredly, wings fanning out as he stretched and tried to pop his stiff joints, to no avail. _

_Thundercracker walked over to his berth, gently laying down so as not to wake his sparkling, and pulled the seekerlet into a protective embrace. The newly-named infant simply let out a soft cooing noise and curled into a ball against the older seeker's cockpit, not even stirring in the least. _

_Many, many years passed by after that, and eventually Starscream grew from a tiny sparkling into a mature youngling, looking as picturesque as any mech would think possible. He was still relatively small for his age, but what he lacked in general size he made up for in intelligence. Thundercracker was more than astonished at how smart his young friend turned out to be, barely more than five by Cybertronian standards and already he was enrolled in the Flight Academy, and training on the same level as Thundercracker. He was able to deceive his superiors at the Academy into believing that Starscream was an orphan who had been found a few days earlier and that he had volunteered to take care of him. Hearing this the Dean allowed him to enroll and provided him with free medical treatment and quartering, of course at this Thundercracker recommended that Starscream stay with him. The old seeker simply approved all of the forms and appointed Thundercracker as his primary caretaker, unaware that the blue seeker had raised Starscream as if he were his own. _

_Starscream was then taken to the Academy's med bay and given his first medical exam since he was born under the name of Skyblazer, long since thought to be dead. The entire Goldenfire Clan had been killed by a rival clan who had then taken over Vos, Shootingstar was replaced with a mech known as Stormbringer, a rather menacing black and silver seeker who had so far proved to be an unforgiving and non-negotiable ruler. And with the new civil war beginning to break out he had already been asked to join the Autobots, though he had rejected the offer and then threatened their Prime with death on the matter. Thundercracker knew that that meant trouble. But at least Starscream was safe, and no matter what he would never allow Stormbringer, the Autobots, or any other mech to hurt his youngling. It helped that Starscream was completely oblivious as to who he really was, though many seekers who were familiar with Shootingstar and the Goldenfire Clan seemed to think him familiar. They never got close enough to find out, Thundercracker allowed no one to venture near Starscream that he saw as a potential threat, and this included an exchange seeker from the War Academy of the Decepticon faction, Skywarp._

_Skywarp was everything that Thundercracker wasn't. He was idiotic, hyper, hardheaded, high-strung, violent, and more than dangerous. The violet and black seeker had been trained to kill, he lived to kill, he was about as far from being a pacifist or a neutral as it got, and had already proven to be more trouble than he was worth. At this, Thundercracker made sure that Starscream was never around him, he hid the youngling away protectively._

_However, after a few vorns of being forced to allow the dark seeker to stay in his quarters, and much protesting from an angry youngling who was tired of being hid away in his room, he allowed Skywarp to meet Starscream. The two instantly hit it off and became friends, and eventually Thundercracker grew to trust his new counterpart, even going so far as forming a trine bond between the three of them. However, not even Skywarp knew about Starscream's origins, and Thundercracker wasn't willing to tell him either. The blue seeker vowed never to expose that secret, promising it to Starscream. _

"Looks like I just broke that promise huh?" Thundercracker asked rhetorically as Ratchet took in the new information with a sense of privilege, listening intently to every little detail that the seeker was willing to tell him.

It was an interesting story to say the least, and as intricately woven into Thundercracker's processor and memory files as it possibly could be, it was something that he'd never forget no matter how bad he wanted to. Ratchet had never viewed Starscream and Thundercracker's relationship as that resembling a parent-child one, he had always thought it was more of a sibling relationship. But now he had been allowed to see exactly why Thundercracker was so protective of the younger seeker, Starscream was basically _his _child. After being assigned to care for him Thundercracker had done everything to make good on his promise, and he had, even though now he had finally broken it in the name of medicine, or Starscream's life, the latter being far more important.

What had happened to Starscream's clan and to him as a sparkling was traumatic, even if he didn't remember it personally. Thundercracker remembered it all too well, the day he had found the curled up sparkling in the box in the alley, the following news of Vos' ruler Shootingstar being brutally murdered by a rival clan leader, and the rest of the clan being executed as well. It was a lot to deal with, especially knowing that the rightful heir of Vos' hierarchy was the sparkling he had found, and was now protecting.

Ratchet tilted his head curiously, pondering a thought, "Does Starcream know who he really is?" He asked, watching as Thundercracker sighed in frustration, rubbing his temples.

"Yes. Well, sort of. He kind of found out unintentionally…it was horrible, what happened to him, how he found out…" The blue seeker went on, not being able to form an entirely logical sentence as the horrifying memories assaulted his mind, "It's why he doesn't trust anyone."

Ratchet was now even more curious, "Well, what happened? how did he find out?" The medic enquired, completely wrapped up into the past of a seeker who was just as complicated as the story was.

Thundercracker was silent for a long while, shaking his head silently, trying to fight back the urge throw something from sheer rage and emotional agony.

"Stormbringer tracked him down…" He finally choked, "Starscream will have to tell you the rest. I just can't do it…" With that he heard Skywarp whimper from across the room where he remained at Starscream's side, the dark seeker had woken up and obviously knew what Thundercracker was talking about. His wings lowered and he nuzzled Starscream's stomach lovingly, "Don't make Screamer bring that memory up right after he comes online! It'll probably be his undoing…" The dark seeker whined, never lifting his head from its resting place on his trine leader's abdomen.

Thundercracker shook his head sadly, "He'll need to know Skywarp, besides, Starscream has nightmares about it every time he closes his optics…you know it, I know it, so there's no point in trying to make him repress it, it'll only make him worse." He chided, convincing his companion to fall silent and eventually fall back into recharge.

Ratchet sighed and leaned back in his chair, "Must've been pretty bad for him huh? Whatever it was."

"You have no idea…" Thundercracker muttered quietly.

"So, he dreams about it, has nightmares and the like. Sounds like he was abused, is that what happened?"

Thundercracker shuddered at how close the medic had come to hitting the target, "Sort of, but it was much worse than just abuse…" He hinted, and there was a gasp from Ratchet as he suddenly came to the horrifying conclusion, the only possible answer, but how could a mech be so sick and twisted? If Stormbringer knew that Starscream was an heir of Shootingstar, why wouldn't he just have killed him? Why would he feel the need to…

"Oh dear Primus."

Well, there you have it, Chapter 10! I'll have chapter 11 up pretty soon and it'll all start making sense, since it kinda doesn't make much sense right now….lol sorry…

Oh BTW! Feel free to spam my beta **CaptainInsaneD **for not doing her job :o

She's funny :D

And when you make her mad she gets all Ratchet-y! Except that she throws knives…mainly at me…but it's worth it! Be mean! Be extra mean! Say hurtful mean things! Well, not really hurtful mean things…okay just spam her with annoying messages, but don't be mean, I don't feel like dying because then I wouldn't be able to update…

Oh and please, please, please, please, please REVIEW! PLEASE! I'm begging you, I will do anything for reviews, I love reviews! They make me so happy X3


	11. Chapter 11

*Just a quick note, there will probably be a lot of mistakes but I didn't have a beta to revise this so I'm really sorry! Try your best to ignore the suckage.*

Why hello there! I posted you this chapter…but I eated it T^T

Lol just kidding! Anyways though, this chapter will sort of explain Starscream's trust issues! And he wakes up in this chapter! Yay!

Btw, the memories do contain mature content so if you're not comfortable with that then feel free to skip the italicized text. Okay? Okay, okay, okay? Okay! I'm glad that's behind us. Now, HI YO SILVER AWWAAAAAAYYYY!

**Ch.11**

_Running. He was running. He didn't know why, he didn't want to know why, all he knew was that he had to run. The hallways were winding in front of him, twisting and turning in a labyrinth of white and silver aerodynamic designs. It was confusing, so confusing. Everything blended and meshed into one painful trap, keeping him confined. Every way he turned, any way he ran, it always seemed to lead him in a circle, back to the same place. But he wasn't in the same place, he had gotten away hadn't he?_

_Suddenly he turned, and he was forced to skid to a stop, his legs giving out on him in exhaustion as he faced a wall. _

_He had no choice, he pressed himself into the corner, curling up into a defensive ball. Where was Thundercracker? Where was Skywarp? Why weren't they here, why weren't they helping him? Why had Thundercracker left him, why hadn't he saved him yet? Did he not care? Did he want for him to be hurt?_

_He heard footsteps, they were coming near to him, they had been chasing him, he had tried to run away but now they would find him. They would find him and they would hurt him. _

_He curled further into his ball, knees brought up to his chest, arms around them defensively, but he knew that he was still going to get hurt. _

_Then, there was a laugh, piercing into him as if it was a weapon. _

"_Well would you look what we've got here!" A mocking tone said in a sing-song voice as the footsteps drew nearer, "Hey Nimbus, tell Stormbringer I found the little brat, I'll take him straight to him." The mech said over a comm. link as he roughly grabbed the little seeker before him._

_The next thing he knew he was mercilessly thrown to the floor, crying out in pain as he landed at the pedes of another mech. _

"_Finally, I always knew you weren't dead Skyblazer." A dark voice chuckled as a hand reached out and stroked his wing. _

_He hissed at the strange sensation, reeling back into a kneeling position and wrapping his arms around himself. The mech who had touched him was sitting in a large chair, a throne, it was decorated with the symbol of Vos. This was Vos' ruler._

_He was huge, the sheer size of him was frightening, not to mention the menacing look that was all about him. His colors were black and silver, his optics a deep violet, fangs noticeable in his smile. He was terrifying. So terrifying, so evil looking. He was evil, he had to be, this was the kind of mech that he had only seen in storybooks, the kind that tried to ruin everyone's' lives and kill the others. _

"_I-I'm not Skyblazer!" He protested weakly, his voice squeaking and his wings trembling as he tried to show the mech that he'd made a mistake, he had never heard that name before. Skyblazer, it sounded familiar enough, as if he had known it at one time, but it didn't ring any bells. "M-my name's Starscream…" He finally told the mech, fear noticeable in his voice._

_The mech eyed him for a moment, fanged smile spreading across his face. "Ah, and I suppose that's the name that Thundercracker gave to you? That boy's a menace, I should've known that Shootingstar would give you to him, he's always trusted him." He explained thoughtfully, reaching down and picking Starscream up by the back of the neck. He lifted the little seeker into his lap and stared at him momentarily, a wicked grin alighting his features. "You look just like Shootingstar, so beautiful…but so worthless." _

_Starscream stared up at the mech with wide, confused optics, not understanding what he was talking about. _

"_Who's Shootingstar?" He asked with an expression full of curiosity, flinching as the mech once again ran his hand over his wing. The feeling was so strange, not in a bad way, it actually felt good, calming, but he didn't like the mech doing it. He didn't want this mech touching him, he didn't want to be with him, he wanted to be with Thundercracker, Thundercracker never did these strange things to him. He trusted Thundercracker. _

_The mech continued stroking the little seeker's wings, smiling the entire time as he did, the other two seekers who were in the room were uncomfortable at seeing this, but they didn't move from there places at either side of the two doors. _

"_Shootingstar, youngling, is one of your creators, he was a beautiful mech, so beautiful…and yet, he was not fit to rule Vos, he gave you away to that wretch, your Thundercracker that you hold so dearly. But I suppose he did it for the better, after all, I was going to kill you just as I did him and the rest of his clan…" The mech purred as he lowered his head and gently kissed Starscream's helm. _

_The young seeker didn't know what to think, Thundercracker kissed his helm often, but this was different. Thundercracker never touched his wings, he never held him like this, in his lap like this…it felt wrong…_

"_I have better plans in mind for you youngling…because you are Shootingstar's, I'll make you wish you had been killed along with him. I'm going to make you wish you were never born. And when I'm done, I never want to see you again little whore, is that understood?" The mech asked in a dangerously low tone, his lips brushing against his captive's neck. _

_Starscream shuddered and nodded, his small form trembling in the mech's grasp. "Wh-what are you gonna do to m-me?" He asked fearfully, not wanting to experience whatever torture was about to be inflicted on him. He wanted to run to Thundercracker, he wanted to be protected like he normally was, he wanted for the blue seeker to wrap his arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. But he knew that nothing was going to be okay, he was about to be hurt, he was about to feel pain…and not the pain of falling or the pain of being told no when he wanted something, but a different pain altogether. _

_The mech simply smiled and nipped at the youngling's neck with his teeth, "I'm going to make you live up to your new name Starscream. And when I cast you away like a broken toy, I want you to crawl back to Thundercracker and tell him that if he doesn't leave Vos, then I'll do it all again…is that clear?" _

_Starscream nodded, tears beginning to form in his blue optics as the mech moved his hands between his legs. _

_He didn't understand, he didn't know what was going to happen. What was he going to do? He wasn't supposed to be touched down there, no one was supposed to touch him there, it was wrong. He was being wronged, violated. But he couldn't do anything, the mech was too big, he was too strong, he was powerful and Starscream wasn't. _

_The little seeker whimpered as the mech caressed the inside of his thighs, it felt so strange, he didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. _

"_You two may leave, when this is over then I want you to take him to Thundercracker, at the Flight Academy where you first found him. Tell him that he is banished from Vos, as is the one he's been staying with. And tell him everything about what's been done to his little youngling, I want to know of the look on his face when he finds out that little Starscream finally found out the truth…the hard way." _

_Nimbus, one of the two seekers who were being dismissed, gave Starscream a sorrowful look before exiting the room with the other seeker. _

_When the two had left, the mech continued his petting, loving the confused expression on his captive's face and the scared noises he was emitting. He was definitely going to enjoy this, making his nemesis' own son cry out his name in pain, Shootingstar would turn in his grave if he would be able to see._

_He reached between the youngling's legs once more, forcibly retracting his interface panel. _

_Starscream's optics widened in disbelief and he screamed as loud as he could, fear overtaking him as he began to struggle wildly. He wanted to get away, he didn't like this, he didn't want this to happen, he was scared, he was so scared…_

_The mech held him tightly by his hips, however, and refused to let him go. _

_Starscream heard a sudden click as his captor's interface panel slid open, revealing what the little seeker could only guess to be what the mech planned to hurt him with. And it definitely looked like it was going to hurt. It looked like it was going to hurt a lot. _

"_P-please mister, please don't hurt me! I'm sorry for whatever I did wrong, I promise I won't do it again! Please don't hurt me!" He cried, begging, pleading, willing to do whatever it took in order to get away. He was terrified. _

_The mech smiled, forcing Starscream's hips down until the tip of his spike was buried in the young seeker's virgin port. This forced a strangled cry from the youngling, tears flowed freely from his optics and dropped onto his tormentor's chest in light blue stains, contrasting his dark colors. _

"_Now, now Starscream. If you're going to scream then you should at least be screaming my name now shouldn't you? After all it's the polite thing to do, as long as you scream for me then I promise I'll make the pain stop, just scream for me, cry for me my little whore, just like your creator." _

_Starscream's chest heaved as his intakes worked double time to keep his systems from giving out on him, he had never felt anything so horrible in all his life. Pain, it was all pain. But he also felt sick, so sick. All he wanted was for the pain to stop, he would do anything, he would scream if that was all it took, he would scream anything, he would scream and cry until his vocalizer gave out. _

"_W-who…nhh…who a…are y-you?" He managed to choke out between sobs. _

_The mech smiled, kissing Starscream's helm once more, "My name is Stormbringer, I'm the very mech that Shootingstar screamed for before he died, and you will scream for me as well!" _

_With that he forced himself all the way into the young seeker, ripping an agonized scream from him. Starscream cried, he fought, he scratched, he bit, he tried pulling away, he tried to make the mech get out of him, but nothing worked. Every time he would finally start to leave he would just go back in again and it hurt so much. It burned, it burned so badly and he knew he was bleeding, he could feel himself being stretched and torn and he could smell his own blood, he could feel its warmth running in rivulets along his leg. But he couldn't do anything, he was trapped, he was being hurt, it hurt, it was painful. He didn't like the pain, he wanted it all to go away but this mech…this mech wanted him to be in pain, he had done something to deserve this pain…_

_He begged for the mech to stop, he cried and thrashed and fought and pleaded, but the mech never stopped, he just smiled, he smiled at the pain he was causing. He smiled at the blood he drew, he smiled at the tears he caused, he smiled at the life he had just ruined…_

_The pain became too much, it was so horrible, so sickening, so…confusing. Finally he couldn't take it anymore, he screamed, he screamed for the mech, he screamed so that his pain would end. _

"_Stormbringer!" _

_And then it all went dark. Heat incinerated his entire frame, he felt as if he were going to die, his spark stopped pulsing, his eyes were wide with shock but they were unseeing. The pain was gone, everything went numb, he barely heard Stormbringer's roar of release as the mech finished with him. _

_He fell, he knew he did, he fell from the mech's lap and onto the floor where it was cold and the ground was unforgiving…everything was unforgiving…nothing cared, nothing could be trusted. _

_The darkness, the numbness, it took him quickly after that, drawing him into its protective embrace where he was safe, where he was protected. He went limp, his optics closed, tears relentlessly streaming from them, he continued bleeding, and finally, mercifully, he fell unconscious. _

Starscream's optics flew open in panic and he sat bolt upright, breathing heavily and clawing at the surface underneath him. He felt the pain, then the numbness, then the sickness that always afflicted him after that memory. He felt the overwhelming need to run, to be held, to forget everything and simply be numb again. But then he felt anger, only anger, rage.

He barely noticed the surprised yip that Skywarp emitted as the dark seeker noticed him come online.

Skywarp instantly ran from the med bay, screeching down the hall for Ratchet and Thundercracker.

Once that was done he ran over to the berth where Starscream was still panting, optics slightly narrowed and intakes fighting to return to normal speed. His fingers were scraping against the berth's cold metal surface, leaving streaks of cyan along the silver. His wings were trembling and his knees were brought up to his chest protectively.

Skywarp hung his head, the happiness of having his trine leader back online subsiding into pity for the younger seeker.

"Ratchet wants to know about that by the way…" He sighed, going to sit in the chair beside Starscream's berth. He propped his elbow onto the surface and rested his chin in his hand, staring up at his wingmate sadly.

Starscream's breathing finally returned to normal and he closed his optics momentarily, trying to clear his head of the horrid dream.

"Ratchet? The Autobot medic?" He question in a confused daze, crimson gaze returning to Skywarp almost surprised.

The violet and black seeker eyed him for a moment before frowning, "Yeah, don't you remember, you're in the Autobot base. Skyfire attacked you." He informed his trine leader with disdain as he spoke the last part. Primus forbid he ever get his hands on that mech, it would not be pretty.

Starscream relaxed a little, stretching his legs out and laying back down, "Oh. I remember…" He said after a few moments of watching Skywarp tinker around with the spark monitor he was hooked to. He still didn't understand the need for all of this medical equipment, he felt fine after all.

"How long have I been in stasis?" He asked as he turned his gaze to the ceiling, optics narrowing slightly at the intensity of the lights. Skywarp shrugged, "I dunno, it's been about two weeks since I've been here…I was beginning to worry that you'd never wake up." He stated honestly, poking his trinemate's wing experimentally to see if Starscream could feel it. When the Air Commander yelped in shock and sat up again Skywarp could only laugh, "Well there's definitely nothing wrong with your neural network." He smiled, earning him a weary smirk from his friend.

Starscream would have reacted by pinching Skywarp roughly on the wing, if it hadn't been for the mech who walked in at about that time.

Optimus Prime stood in the doorway with a quizzical look in his sapphire optics, watching the two seekers as they talked. He didn't mean to interrupt them, but it seemed that Starscream had noticed him rather quickly.

"I see that you're awake." The Autobot commander said happily as he walked into the room and stood beside the berth that Starscream was occupying, the seeker merely looked up at him uncertainly.

"Yes…I would like to thank you for having the kindness to allow me to stay here while I was…indisposed." The scarlet seeker said as he averted his gaze away from that of the leader's.

Optimus nodded, reaching a hand out to rest on Starscream's shoulder, it had taken all his patience while waiting for the seeker to return to consciousness, he had wanted to see him rather badly. "It was my pleasure Starscream. After all, you were no trouble, and neither were your trinemates. I understand that should you have been forced to return to Megatron that you may have not recovered properly, if at all." He said with sympathy, watching the seeker's expression turn to that of a pained one.

"Thank you, Optimus Prime…" Was all he could say in terms of a reply.

The Autobot leader smiled behind his facemask, "There's no need for your thanks Starscream. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you like."

He squeezed Starscream's shoulder reassuringly, fighting the urge to simply scoop the seeker into his arms and carry him away. The way that Starscream was looking at him, his lips parted just barely as if he had something more to say, optics bright with uncertainty and confusion, cheeks a subtle pink in what he supposed to be embarrassment. He was stunning, possibly the most beautiful mech that Optimus had ever seen. He would never understand why someone like Starscream had joined the Decepticons in the first place, nor why Megatron was such a sparkless fool to abuse him.

"I want you to know that if you ever need my help, for any reason, I'm here for you Starscream. I'll always be here for you." Optimus told him, holding the seeker's gaze for what felt like an eternity.

Starscream bowed his head and looked away, he felt slightly embarrassed at having such a noble mech show him any kindness, let alone being so direct about it. "Thank you…Optimus Prime." He couldn't come up with much else to say, and even if he could then he didn't feel like saying anything.

The Autobot commander laughed softly, "It's not a problem Starscream, and by the way, you can just call me Optimus."

With that he strode from the room to resume his duties, allowing Ratchet, who had just made it to the med bay entrance, to enter and begin his many necessary tasks.

Thundercracker ran past the medic and into the room, his gaze immediately centering on Starscream. He let out a noise of pure joy and nearly lunged at the younger seeker, hugging him tightly as if he hadn't seen him in vorns. "Oh my sweet Starscream thank Primus you're okay! I was so afraid that you wouldn't wake up, I thought I was going to die!" He cried as he repeatedly kissed Starscream's cheek, squeezing the smaller mech in a crushing embrace.

Starscream couldn't suppress a laugh at the way his trinemate was acting, but regardless he hugged the blue seeker back with just as much emotion. "Geez TC, you're in a loving mood today!" He smiled, not daring to let go of his friend as he enjoyed the feeling of being comforted. The older mech simply held him that much closer, nuzzling his helm with as much affection as possible. "I was so worried about you Starscream. When we get back to base I'm going to make sure that Megatron gives you a lengthy vacation, no more battles, no work, no anything stressing for at least a month!" He promised, finally releasing his trinemate and standing beside his berth, Skywarp latched onto Thundercracker's waist in favor of a more silent role in the conversation. It was more than obvious that the violet seeker hadn't slept for awhile, and apparently he found Thundercracker to be quite comfortable.

Starscream smiled, happy to be back in the land of the conscious and not trapped with his dreams. It felt like he had been in stasis for an eternity, and now everything had somehow changed. "I doubt that Megatron will be so kind Thundercracker, he'll probably want me back to my duties the second I step into the control room."

Thundercracker smirked at that, "Oh I beg to differ…as a matter of fact, I know for a fact that Megatron has had a little…attitude adjustment, when it comes to you at least." The blue seeker couldn't help but smile at Starscream's perplexed expression, he would personally have to be there whenever Megatron confessed everything to him. Only so he could point and laugh at the two of course.

Ratchet scoffed from across the room, throwing a datapad over his shoulder before making his way to Starscream. He moved Thundercracker and Skywarp aside with a shooing motion and stood resolutely in front of the trine leader. "You don't have to worry about Megatron hurting you kid, if he does he'll find himself at the business end of my good wrench!" The medic told him with a kind smile, patting the seeker's shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Alright, now I'm going to need to run a diagnostic on you, so try and stand up."

Starscream complied and unhooked the many wires attached to him from the medical equipment, he then gracefully slid off of the berth, struggling to stand only for a moment before he gathered his strength. He stood before Ratchet with an unsure sort of smile, proud of himself for being able to stand so quickly. The medic nodded his approval and then moved on to the next tasks. "Alright, take a few steps so that I can be sure your motor skills haven't been impeded." Starscream obeyed, taking a few tentative steps forward, listening to the click that his thruster heels made on the floor. He smiled openly, there was nothing wrong as far as that went.

"Well that's good, now to be sure your spinal relays have returned to proficient functioning, bend down and touch your pedes." As he said these orders he would mark them off with a check, making sure that Starscream was in perfect health before advancing to the next one.

Starscream completed numerous tasks that he was asked to do by the medic, ensuring his recovery was complete. Once Ratchet finished the diagnostic he smiled and folded the datapad under his arm, "Well, I have to say that I congratulate Thundercracker and myself on a job well done!" He smiled good-naturedly, and Starscream reached his hand out, wanting the medic to take it.

Ratchet took the seeker's hand and Starscream shook it formally, even going so far as bowing slightly in appreciation, "Thank you Ratchet, you saved my life." He told the red and white mech in a soft tone, voice almost quiet enough to be a whisper. Ratchet pulled the young mech into a hug, "Handshakes are for old timers, kid! You're gonna have to learn how to be a little more friendly." He said as if he were scolding a child, though he managed to fit just the right amount of humor into his voice that Starscream knew he was only being sarcastic. Starscream almost pulled away at the impromptu hug, but remembered that it was only Ratchet, he knew that the medic wouldn't hurt him.

"I-I'll try." He offered with a weak smile, having done so much right after coming out of stasis was exhausting, Ratchet acknowledged this and motioned for Starscream to return to his berth, the seeker obliged almost excitedly.

He sat down for a moment before allowing himself to fall back onto the berth, feeling his overstressed joints being relieved from the pressure. His back hurt, his wings hurt, his legs hurt, his head hurt. He wanted to sleep, but he wasn't willing to, after all, he had just woken up.

He looked over to Ratchet, the medic was filling out another datapad, but after a second of feeling someone's gaze on him he looked up, noticing Starscream.

"What can I get you?" He asked, thinking that maybe the young seeker was thirsty. However, what Starscream said next surprised both him and his trinemates.

"I want to see Skyfire."

Skyfire entered the med bay much to the dismay of Skywarp and Thundercracker, both of which were spitting insults and throwing curses in the larger flier's direction. He tried his best to ignore them but found it hard when they literally began to jump at him, trying do anything to force him out of the room.

Ratchet grabbed both of them by one of their wings, "Alright you two that's enough! Starscream wanted to see him and Skyfire isn't going to do anything while I'm here okay!" He yelled, having to strain his voice in order to get the two hissing seekers just to hear him. Thundercracker resorted to growling dangerously as Skywarp tried to teleport from Ratchet's grip. However, as soon as he tried, the medic pinched his wingtip painfully and caused him to yelp in barely contained surprise. "Out, both of you, I'll let you back in when they're done talking!" He shouted in a nearly-panicked tone, pushing them both out of the med bay doors and into the hallway. The doors hissed shut a moment later and he engaged the locking mechanism. "Holy Primus, remind me never to let you in here again!" Ratchet said breathlessly as he sank against the doors for a moment, trying to regain some of his previous composure. Two angry seekers were not what he wanted to deal with, and they were more than a handful.

Skyfire frowned sadly, looking to the floor in shame. He noticed that Starscream was looking at him, his ruby optics focused on his ex-lover's face with unmasked pain. He couldn't bare to return the seeker's gaze, he felt like a monster, he had hurt him, someone that he loved so much…

Ratchet sighed, noticing the tension between the two, "I'll be in my office if either of you need anything." He told them, quickly making his way to a door across the room and leaving them alone.

Once he was gone Starscream pointed to the chair beside his berth, obviously wanting Skyfire to come and sit beside him. The white flier was hesitant at first, but after a moment of self conflict he finally went to the seeker.

Starscream watched him carefully, mistrustful, not entirely sure why he had even wanted to see Skyfire. All he knew was that he wanted answers.

He locked optics with his previous friend, searching for any hint of anger, sorrow, or remorse…all he found was shame, an overwhelming amount of shame. "Skyfire…" He said quietly, earning a pained look form the larger mech. "Why did you do this to me?"

The question nearly caused Skyfire to want to kill himself right then and there, it was like a shot to the spark, so innocent and disbelieving. That voice, that innocent, young, hurt voice…how could he have done it? Why _had _he done it? What horrible force in all the universe had compelled him to do something so…unspeakable.

"Starscream I…I only wanted what was best for you. I've seen how Megatron hurts you, it's no secret to anyone. You could have a better life here, with us, as an Autobot! But I knew you wouldn't listen to me, you never have, not since the day I first met you at the Science Academy. That's why I…I…I'm sorry Starscream. I just didn't see any other way…" He tried to explain, knowing that no matter what he told the seeker that it wouldn't justify what he had done.

Starscream looked at him for a long time, thinking over his words carefully as he did, and then he reached his hand out. "I forgive you…"

Skyfire stared dumbly at Starscream's outstretched hand, not believing the words that had just come from the seeker's mouth. How could he forgive him so easily? How could he forgive him at all? After the pain he had put him through, the agony, the torture of being grounded for so long and being kept in stasis…It didn't make any sense that he would do this, he didn't deserve his forgiveness.

"Well, are you going to hold my hand or not?" Starscream interrupted his daze bluntly, blue hand still awaiting the company of his own.

With a second of disbelief Skyfire took his hand, wrapping his fingers around the smaller mech's as they used to do. He almost couldn't fathom the fact that Starscream wasn't going to hold a grudge against him, that he had been forgiven.

Before he could stop himself he found himself asking a question that he had wanted to ask for so long, "What happened to us Starscream?" It was this question that had haunted him for what seemed like forever, ever since he was brought back online on Earth. When he had seen Starscream, his once innocent blue optics stained red, his wings marred with that insignia, his sweet, happy attitude washed away and replaced with cold, calculating prowess…he knew that he had changed.

Starscream sighed and looked up at the ceiling, crimson optics shimmering as he held back tears. "When I lost you, here on this wretched planet…something just snapped, my spark broke Skyfire. I looked for you for weeks, I didn't sleep, I didn't eat…all I could do was scream and cry and search…but I never found you. I returned to Cybertron, everyone thought that I killed you, they blamed me for your death. They didn't understand…I graduated on my own from the Science Academy, and then I joined the Decepticons…" He explained almost sadly, though Skyfire couldn't help but notice the small smile that began to form on Starscream's lips. "That's when I met him…and that's when I stopped loving you…I never knew that he didn't feel the same about me, and I thought you were dead. If I had only known that you weren't then I would have never stopped looking for you. But I didn't know, there's a lot of things I didn't know." The words weren't easy to take in, they were faint but hurtful, and they cut Skyfire straight to the core, searing into his spark like acid.

"You stopped loving me, and started loving him."

Starscream looked at him, but it wasn't an angered look, it was more of a confused look, the kind that he always wore when he didn't want to distinguish between his emotions.

"You love him, even though he abuses you, even though he openly mocks you, calls you a fool, a traitor, a coward, even though he sees you as nothing but an expendable toy?" Skyfire didn't mean for the words to come out so hostile, but as he said them he could visibly see the seeker wince, the tears he had been trying to hold back now beginning to flow.

"I don't know why I do Skyfire…perhaps he's right, perhaps I am a fool for loving him. But what am I supposed to do? I love him, I really do, I can't just throw that all away! I let him call me those things, I put on a front! I'm afraid to let him know the real me, what if he thinks even less of me than he does now?" Starscream's voice was pained, quiet and yet the agony that was carried with it was almost tangible. He hated to see the seeker this way, so emotionally conflicted, but Starscream had always been emotionally conflicted, damaged in a way.

"Why would he think less of you Starscream? You're a wonderful person, you're sweet, you're kind, you're beautiful, you're caring…you're too good for him." Skyfire said softly, trying to convince him that he was worrying over nothing. However, Starscream didn't seem to acknowledge him.

"What about what happened to me…most mechs think I'm tainted because of it, who's to say that he'll think any different?" The young flier cried, not fighting as Skyfire pulled him into a gentle embrace. He was so afraid to let anyone know of what happened, he was ashamed of it, and he feared that anyone who found out would look at him with shame as well.

"What Stormbringer did to you was wrong…" Skyfire comforted the seeker in a soft voice, "But it's not your fault, you weren't tainted because of it Starscream, you were still innocent, you were just…injured. If he thought any less of you because of something like that then it would only prove his stupidity."

Starscream clutched the larger flier as if his life depended on it, unabashedly crying into his friend's neck as he tried to gain control of his emotions. He didn't know why he was becoming so emotional all of a sudden, normally that memory didn't affect him so much, but it was the thought of being rejected by the mech he adored so much because of it that made him anxious. He was afraid of being looked down on with disgust, pity, or sympathy. He didn't want to be hated, he wanted to be loved. But what was the chance that the love he held would be reciprocated?

Skyfire held the seeker gently, wrapping his arms around the smaller mech's frame and whispering soft reassurances to him. It had been so long since he'd been able to hold Starscream like this, since he'd actually had the seeker's trust, since Starscream _needed _him. When he had hurt the younger flier he was more than sure that Starscream would never even look at him again, in fact, he was almost positive that he had killed him. And he had nearly killed himself just from the thought of it.

But now, even though he was holding Starscream like he used to when they were together, he knew that the seeker wasn't thinking of him. He wasn't crying because of what he'd done to him, he wasn't crying because he missed him, he was crying over another mech, a mech who didn't deserve him. He would never know why Starscream developed these feelings for someone so cruel and sadistic, he wasn't even worth the seeker's time, nor his emotions.

Skyfire gently stroked Starscream's back, right between the seeker's wings where he knew it would calm the smaller mech down, "He'd have to be an idiot not to love you Starscream. You can try and talk to him, but if he hurts you then you know you can come back here. We all know of how he abuses you, how he blames you for things that aren't your fault, why haven't you come to the Autobots sooner?" He inquired a bit worriedly, ever since he had come back online the others had told him of how Megatron treated Starscream. And after they found out that he used be involved with the seeker they made it their business to tell him about everything they could find out. It broke his spark to know that his ex-lover, who he was still very much in love with, was being treated like slag by the mech he dared to trust.

Starscream finally stopped crying, pushing away from Skyfire and rubbing his optics clean of the tears, "I didn't want to come to the Autobots, I didn't want to defect…I-I don't mind that he hurts me, I deserve it, I really do. I just wish I could tell him the reason behind my motives for defying him. But I can't, I know he wouldn't be able to hurt me if he found out that every attempt to overthrow him was just a charade. I love him Skyfire, dear Primus I love him…I can't leave him, I just can't." The small seeker explained, his voice filled with pain and misunderstood affection as he tried to make Skyfire see his point.

"But he doesn't love you."

Starscream flinched at the harsh words, "I…I know."

The seeker looked away from him in sudden shame, crimson gaze falling to the floor as he brought his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. "I know." He had nothing more to say after that, merely pitying himself for even trying to think that his illustrious leader would reciprocate any kind of emotional feelings for him.

"You can leave now Skyfire, I'll talk to you later."

The large white flier hung his head for a moment, he didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay with Starscream and try to convince him to remain here with the Autobots, where he would be safe. But he knew that the seeker wouldn't, he would go back to Megatron and resume being abused like he always had, and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Um…before I go Starscream, I was just wondering. When I was brought back online here, we never really got a chance to see if there was still something there…So, I was wondering, perhaps one last kiss, just to see, consider it as being for science?" The larger flier offered nervously, his voice uncertain if anything else.

Starscream's crimson gaze shifted to focus on him, his optics the very picture of confusion and delayed hesitation. But, he never voiced any objection. The seeker merely nodded calmly, turning his chin up to face the larger mech.

Skyfire leaned forward tentatively, bringing their lips together gently at first, however, he soon wasted no time in deepening the kiss.

Starscream didn't oblige him by returning the kiss, he felt nothing, just the emptiness that had been left when he had lost Skyfire so many millennia ago on this wretched planet. An emptiness he doubted would ever be filled again.

It didn't take long for Skyfire's moment of reverie to end, he may have been caught up in the moment, but obviously he realized that Starscream wasn't getting as much out of it as he was. The seeker looked lost, almost helpless.

The white mech pulled away with uncertainty, "I'll take that as a no then…" He told him, sad beyond any belief of the word.

Starscream simply looked away, gaze falling to the floor once again. Skyfire took this as his sign to leave.

He stood up, giving the seeker a hopeful little smile before making his way to the med bay doors. When they opened he was surprised to see both Thundercracker and Skywarp had been apprehended by Optimus. The Autobot commander had a slightly annoyed look on his face, and that was the surprising part, his face mask was gone.

The shuttle left quickly, sighing in depression despite the sight of his ex-lover's trinemates being comically held by his leader. "For science?…way to go Skyfire." He told himself as he stalked off.

Skywarp grinned sheepishly as Starscream eyed him, shrugging in a childish manner, "What? I just wanted to know what he was hiding!" The violet and black seeker complained, trying to make Optimus let go of the back of his neck.

The noble mech was wearing a constant frown, annoyed beyond anything at having had his mask forcibly removed by a mech of the opposite faction. He had nearly shot the seeker by reflex.

Thundercracker was simply grimacing seeing as how the Autobot leader had apprehended him as well, all he had tried to do was pull Skywarp away from the mech, but Optimus had reacted as if he were under attack. He had to admit that he had been rather intimidated, the opposite faction commander was all fists and fury when it came to two seekers squabbling on top of him.

The blue and red mech walked into the room and dropped both of the Decepticons onto the floor roughly, conveying his anger at the situation almost aggressively.

"What did he do?" Starscream asked, glaring at Skywarp in particular.

Optimus looked at him for a moment before going to sit beside the berth almost exhaustedly. "He tackled me and ripped my facemask off, at which point I almost ripped his _face _off. My apologies for any injuries he sustained, but I do believe that I was in the right." He said conversationally while the red seeker sent a death glare towards Skywarp.

They were in the enemy's base for Primus' sake! Was he asking for the three of them to be mercilessly slaughtered by an angry Prime?

Then again, he didn't exactly see what Optimus was so angry about anyways, so his facemask was gone, it wasn't like he was repulsive, in fact he was quite the opposite. The only flaw on his handsome features was a scar running from his left cheek to his jaw line, and that was barely worth noticing.

"I apologize Optimus Pri—" Starscream started, "I mean, Optimus." He made the correction quick, "Skywarp is a bit…off. Please forgive him."

Skywarp gave his trine leader an undignified look that spelled death for the other seeker, while Thundercracker sniggered quietly where he still sat on the floor.

Starscream simply shrugged the look away and looked stoically at the wall, not bothering on making optic contact with anyone, "You may punish them if you wish." Was all he said in terms of being concerned with the matter.

Optimus thought it over for a moment, however, he was against the idea of corporal punishment and so he simply passed the seeker up on his offer, "While it does sound tempting, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." He stated as if in thought, and Skywarp exhaled rather loudly, sinking against Thundercracker's shoulder in barely contained relief.

"However."

Skywarp groaned and sat back up, expecting the worst.

"From now on, you and Thundercracker both are confined to the med bay unless escorted out by Prowl, Jazz, Ironhide, Ratchet or myself. I allowed you two the freedom of roaming the base, against my better judgment, with the thought that you wouldn't have the audacity to pull such a stunt seeing as how your trinemate is in the infirmary. It seems that now I've learned my lesson. We are in the middle of a war, and though I've tried to be lenient, I won't keep the reality of the situation away any longer." At this point he paused, optics narrowing slightly, "If either of you is caught out of the med bay without an escort, then you'll be thrown in the brig, or shot on sight. Do I make myself clear?"

Both seekers were a little taken aback by the growling tone in Prime's voice. Sure he was fierce on the battlefield, but they had heard nothing but good things about his attitude when he was in the comfort of his base. Nonetheless, Thundercracker nodded solemnly, disappointed more in himself, for letting Skywarp do something so stupid, than being confined to the med bay.

Skywarp puffed up for a moment, attempting to look defiant, but when Starscream shot him a half-angry-half-worried glance he quickly squashed his pride and resorted to mumbling insults, slumping against Thundercracker once more.

Optimus smirked triumphantly, relieved to know that he wouldn't be tackled anymore. "Well, now that we've settled that, I believe there are some more important things to go over," He began, looking to Starscream. He took a moment to observe the seeker, how he looked almost completely at ease even though he was in the stronghold of his enemies. Could it be that he trusted Prime not to hurt him? Then again, it could just be because he had both his trinemates and the Wrench Harpy to back him up should anything happen. It was most likely the latter but Optimus didn't allow himself the time to dwell on it, preferring to think that Starscream trusted him.

He thought that now would be as good a time as any to bring the subject up to the seeker, and so with a frustrated sigh he began to try and lure the seeker in. "I understand that you're healed now, and that you probably want to go back to the Nemesis and to your faction, but I was just wondering if perhaps…" He couldn't figure out how to word the next part, at least not without sounding like some whiney, desperate stalker of some sort.

Starscream tilted his head in confusion, "Perhaps what?" He inquired, such an innocent expression on his face that Optimus nearly wanted to crush him in an embrace.

"Well, it would only be logical for you to stay a little while longer, while your physical wounds have healed your mental ones may not have. I would like for you to have as much time away from Megatron as possible. And not only that, I—"

Thundercracker abruptly cut the other mech off, glaring at him intensely, "Why would you assume that Megatron has 'mentally scarred' him?" He growled, and Skywarp echoed him perfectly, menacingly baring his teeth at the Autobot leader.

Optimus was caught off guard by the question, "Megatron beats him, that's no secret, how could he not be affected by it? Anyone who's been hurt like that over and over again is bound to have mental scars." He answered levelly, tone displaying nothing other than concern.

Thundercracker, despite not wanting Starscream to be with Megatron, still felt a need to defend his leader. After all, it's not like Megatron ever knew that Starscream wasn't really trying to take over, he just reacted like any mech would when dealing with insubordination. But, he couldn't just blurt all of this out in front of Optimus, and so he simply bit back the argument.

Skywarp hissed at the large mech before resting his head on Thundercracker's shoulder, officially disassociating himself from the entire conversation in favor of being able to doze off.

At this point, Starscream intervened.

"I don't think that I've been mentally scarred. I feel perfectly fine." He stated a bit shyly as he tried to avoid Prime's gaze. Of course he didn't like to be beaten, nor did he like to be abused, but he didn't consider himself as damaged by it. In fact, it more or less benefited him in the long run, he had an excellent pain tolerance ratio now.

Optimus looked incredulous, but no matter how much Starscream could try and argue the subject he wouldn't submit.

"Still, I would prefer if you stayed a few more weeks. If not for yourself then at least for me." He said wearily, noticing Thundercracker's angered glare once more.

Starscream frowned, thinking it over slowly. He wasn't too fond of the idea of being in the Autobot base for any longer than necessary, but then again he wasn't too fond of facing Megatron when he returned either. At least here he knew that Ratchet wouldn't let anything happen to him, the medic was practically like a storm cloud drifting over him and striking any mech unfortunate enough to give him a sideways glance with lighting. An angry, wrench-throwing, lightning-striking storm cloud. Not only that, Thundercracker and Skywarp would be able to keep him company, and if he ever got too bored then he could always request that Skyfire come and talk to him. Optimus wouldn't hurt him anyways, he was too nice of a mech to even screech death threats at Skywarp, which was rare when the violet seeker pulled pranks, so there was no reason to not stay.

After contemplating it for a few minutes he finally shrugged, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to rest up for a few days before heading back. That is, provided this isn't some intricate trick to lure us all into trusting you so that you can lock us up and try to pry information from us like we were prisoners."

The Autobot leader looked at him shocked for a second, until the teasing smile on the red seeker's face registered.

"Even though we're in the middle of a war right now, I'll make an exception for mechs that I like. You won't be probed or anything like that!" Optimus laughed softly, nudging Starscream friendlily. The seeker smiled at being able to draw a positive reaction from the other mech, his features naïve and sweet. Optimus was glad that he would be able to enjoy that smile longer.

He stood up, cupping Starscream's chin and looking into the flier's optics for a moment, "You should rest a little while, rebuild your strength. I'll see you tomorrow." He said, noticing how Starscream merely nodded, not jerking away or trying to bite him for the contact.

He walked towards the door, pausing only when Thundercracker held up his stolen facemask, "I managed to get it away from him." Was all that the blue seeker said in terms of an explanation.

Optimus took the plating and replaced it, "You're officially un-banned from the rest of the base, but be sure to keep that hyped up, half-crazed, brain-damaged fragtard in here where he belongs!" With that the Autobot leader stormed out of the room muttering curses about Skywarp.

Thundercracker smiled, quite pleased at having his privileges back, "I hope you heard that fragtard." He said to his supposedly sleeping friend, Skywarp simply laughed and snuggled closer. "Oh I heard it alright, and what's even better is that I recorded it. I can use his voice to prank people! I wonder what Megatron's reaction would be if he suddenly walked into his quarters to hear 'fragtard!' in Prime's tone?"

Starscream barked out a laugh from the med bed and shook his head, "He'd say that I gave Optimus codes to the base and that now he was playing mind games with him, at which point he'd beat me senseless and I in turn would beat you senseless for getting me in trouble! So don't even think about it!" The lead seeker smiled, watching his trinemate's pouting expression come into place.

Thundercracker smirked, "I agree with Starscream, and besides, it's your pranks that get you in so much trouble! I'm un-banned for being mature, but you're the fragtard who's still locked in the med bay!" He bragged happily. Starscream nodded.

"Big deal, you're ungrounded, so what! It's only because you're his favorite!" Skywarp said sticking his tongue out. "I'm the hated child!"

Thundercracker rolled his optics, "What is he, our creator now?" He asked sarcastically.

Skywarp shrugged, "Might as well be seeing as how Screamer isn't leaving any time soon and I'm grounded for life." He said distastefully.

There was no reply except for Ratchet coming out of his office, a rare smile on his face, "Sorry it took so long. What'd I miss?"

Thundercracker smiled and perked his wings up, "Oh nothing, just the fact that I'm the favorite, Skywarp's a fragtard, and Starscream is staying for a little while longer! But more importantly, I'm the favorite."

The medic looked at him as if he were crazy, before going to sit at his desk and begin working on more things.

He spoke as he read, multitasking in a way that any other mech would be jealous of.

"Alright Starscream, since you'll be my patient for a few more days I want to know about this Stormbringer mech, and you're gonna tell me everything about what he did to you." His tone was final, leaving no room for argument even if Starscream was completely surprised about the medic even knowing about that.

The red seeker's previously good mood spiraled and crashed, leaving his expression full of pain and confusion. He hated remembering that encounter, and he hated having to tell other mechs about it even more.

But he would tell him anyways. And when it was over then he always had tomorrow to look forward to, he wouldn't have to talk about these things with Optimus.

Kay, the next chapter will be the last one where they're still with the Autobots, and it will be awkward/violent at best with Starscream being all like "WTF?" about pretty much everything. The chapter _after _the next chapter will be nothing but MxSS since I've obviously kept you all waiting long enough, lol sorry ^.^

Oh and btw, Skywarp is so a hyped up, half-crazed, brain-damaged fragtard, but he's our hyped up, half-crazed, brain-damaged fragtard! Yay for fragtards!

P.S. Thank you Dreamline for your advice, I would've completely overlooked it otherwise! I wanted for Thundercracker to still be able to go here and there though, I feel that he's iffy enough about the war to be taken as not much of a threat, and he's not a warping fragtard either X3

lol but seriously you're a lifesaver! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 333


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hi! Random here, just um you know, updating and all, since I'm at the beach and it's fun to type in the sun! lol sun, fun, I made a rhyme! Yay for rhyming! **_

_**And now for a joke! Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? No one, thanks to bp! Awwww that's not funny it's sad…**_

_**Anyways, this is the last chapter where our beloved Seekers will be in the Autobot base! Yay they're gonna go back home! And the next chapter will be extra fluffy/smutty! X3 **_

_**I've made you all wait! Mwahahahahahaha! I am evil! Lol not really I've just been trying to draw out the drama. I don't think I did too good of a job though…I'm sorry for being a bad author TT^TT**_

_**And so, to make up for it, I gives you a little bit of a smuttiness between seekers! I hope you guys don't hate me now! **_

_**O~O~O **_

_**Ch. 12**_

_Hands dove into armor seams hurriedly, savagely, needing_.

The room was filled with the noise of erratic breathing, humming wings and impatient growling as both seekers fought to rid themselves of frustration.

Neither of them had anything on their mind other than release, they both wanted it, needed it, they _had _to have it. If they were forced to go without it any longer then they were sure their sanity would leave them.

There was a hiss of retracting panels, followed by a soft whimper from the smaller flier as he was penetrated.

Skywarp made soft shushing noises as he ground his hips forward over and over, increasing his pace with all the gentleness of a friend, and all the ferocity of an animal.

Every time his ruthless movements met the blissful submission of his smaller partner he drew small cries and soft moans from his companion, watching the beautiful young mech writhe beneath him as if he were a pin-up poster come to life, simply radiating with pure, unadulterated sensuality.

The frenetic motion of their overheated bodies caused both to release a steady stream of pleasured noises and Vosian obscenities unique to their race, and furthering their already heightened arousal.

Admittedly, Skywarp couldn't say that he had never had one of his dreams come true, being able to have Starscream's trust on this level had entitled him to all of the fantasy interfacing that most mechs could only wish for.

The smooth, curvy frame of his wingmate arched beneath him, scraping their cockpits together in euphoric abandon at the brutal pounding he was receiving. It was encouragement for Skywarp to go faster, harder. And the dark seeker instantly capitalized on the opportunity, ramming his hips forward as hard as he could. He was instantly rewarded with the wonderful cries that Starscream eagerly emitted, the smaller flier's lips were parted ever so slightly, an invitation, and with no time wasted Skywarp claimed his friend's mouth in a lustful kiss.

They were both close, _so _close, Skywarp could feel it, all of the energy that had been pent up inside of them for weeks, all of the frustration and anger and wanting and _Primus _it felt so damn _good_.

He released Starscream's mouth, feeling the overload he had been waiting for so near that he already felt like he was going to pass out. And judging by the wanton expression on Starscream's beautiful features the smaller seeker was just as enthused.

Skywarp smirked, just a little longer, only a few more thrusts and—

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Skywarp yelped and promptly fell off of the berth, forcing a disappointed cry from Starscream as the younger flier was denied overload.

Ratchet stood in the doorway of the med bay looking both angry and slightly shocked, what was supposed to be any other normal entry into his infirmary had been completely forgotten about. Admittedly, he had seen many things in this room, things that once seen could not be un-seen, but never, in all of his life cycle, had he ever had to do a double-take just to make sure that he had really seen what he thought he had. Either his optics were playing tricks on him or he really had seen the lewd scene that had been playing before him.

Starscream, once realizing that he and Skywarp were no longer alone, quickly sat up and crossed his legs, attempting to hide the mess of lubricant that was staining his port and inner thighs. He was beyond embarrassed at having been walked in on by Ratchet, in the mech's own _med bay _no less.

He briefly wondered if he was out of the medic's good graces now, of course, he had done stupider—and potentially more embarrassing things—over the time he had been here, however, he was sure that Ratchet would make this particular scene one to remember. Starscream could only hope that the medic wasn't into blackmail.

After a moment, and with some difficulties, Skywarp managed to stand up shakily, using the edges of the berth for support, he then leveled a glare at the medic, though it wasn't heartfelt.

Ratchet waved the angered expression away and grunted once he was done being shocked, and after a moment of thinking about a suitable response to the situation he finally looked at both fliers. "There will be no fornicating seekers in my med bay!" His tone was final, and the wrench in his hand, which he had ominously pulled from nowhere, spelled punishment for any mech brave enough to defy him.

Not that anyone would defy him, everyone knew that the infirmary wing was Ratchet territory, and once inside that territory no mech stood a chance in hell if they defied the grumpy surgeon. Therefore, argument was futile.

Both seekers knew this, and yet, the rebelliousness in Starscream's personality quickly overrode his common sense.

The small seeker piped up curiously, ignoring the voice in his head that was screaming at him to keep his mouth shut for one in his short-lived life. With a nervous sort of smile he gave the medic his most pleasing look, "Well, can we 'fornicate' outside the med bay then?" He inquired hopefully. That pit-spawned wrench was really starting to unnerve him now, turning over and over and over again in the medic's hand like a well-made weapon. He knew he should have kept his mouth shut, but his want for a mind-blowing overload had surpassed any fear up to this point.

Ratchet's expression dramatically drew into a frown, and with blue optics flaring he threw the Titanium Tool of Death across the room to make contact with Skywarp's helm, successfully sending the dark seeker back to the ground.

A confused and more than pained whine filled the air, and once again the dark seeker gripped the edges of the berth for support, once he was recovered enough to form coherent sentences he quickly looked to the medic, "Why me! He was the one who asked the question!" He whined, rubbing his sore helm dejectedly and motioning towards wingmate. Starscream smacked him upside the back of the helm and glared at him huffily, "Moron! You're supposed to stand up for me, not make me take the blame!" clearly he had been offended, "See if I'll ever interface with you again afthole!" The smaller seeker added with a hiss, clearly the fact that he hadn't been satisfied had affected his mood. Skywarp knew that this would only spell trouble, a non-satiated Starscream was an aggressive Starscream, and an aggressive Starscream meant one of two things: either he would attack someone out of sheer irritability, or he would resort to pandering between both of his wingmates like a needy, clingy, and annoying sparkling. Skywarp could only hope that it was the latter.

However, the threat of being denied interfacing now had the dark seeker a little worried, he had no intentions of not getting what he wanted. Not that Starscream would go to Thundercracker to spite him anyways, he very rarely would interface with the mech he considered to be his surrogate creator, but that didn't mean he wasn't vindictive enough to do it. And Thundercracker never denied Starscream when it came to interfacing, though he would try to refrain when he felt like he could talk the younger seeker out of it.

Thundercracker, for being a seeker—possibly the most oversexed race of mechs on Cybertron—was actually against unbonded interfacing, though he often found himself waking up in the berth with a more than satisfied Skywarp. Damned hypocrite.

Skywarp pulled himself away from what was quickly becoming a porno in his head and frowned at the Autobot medic again, as well as Starscream who resorted to crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his nose in the air superiorly.

Ratchet tried his best to ignore the two and merely groaned, shuffling over to his desk with a tired expression, he immensely enjoyed collapsing into the comfort of his chair and rubbing his temples, "You were thinking about it just as much as he was Skywarp!" The medic grumbled, "Both of you deserve a wrench to the head!" With that he began to focus on a datapad, scanning its contents disinterestedly and paying no attention to the Decepticons who were both staring at him.

Skywarp picked up said wrench and held it in the air hopefully, "Here, I'll bring it back to you, then you can throw it at him!" He professed happily, standing on wobbly legs and attempting to walk over to the mech, however, the most he managed to do was fall face first back onto the berth, directly into Starscream's lap.

The crimson seeker took the wrench from his friend and hit him on the helm with it, "Bastard! Get off of me! I'm never doing anything with you again!" He exclaimed, "You said you locked the doors! Lying, stupid, moronic, idiotic, worthless fragtard!" As if things weren't already bad enough for Skywarp, Starscream just couldn't resist adding insult to injury. For all his beauty and intelligence, the young seeker was about as merciless as an infuriated tigress.

"Hey! Knock it off, both of you! Put the wrench down Starscream, and Skywarp get off of him, after you two have that settled then I want you both to come here!" Ratchet yelled, voice echoing angrily around the room as both seekers froze.

Two pairs of red optics stared at the medic in confusion, and then, silently, they obeyed.

Starscream pushed Skywarp off of him and stood up, wrench in hand, as he walked over to the Autobot surgeon's desk. The black and violet seeker soon followed him, suppressing a growl at his trinemate as he stood by his side.

Ratchet held his hand out expectantly, and almost immediately the weight of his trusty wrench replaced the emptiness that had been there only moments ago.

He placed the tool aside reluctantly and went back to staring at the two seekers, hands folded and elbows resting on his desk, "Starscream, with you being the most submissive of your trine I didn't expect you to be the one who initiated what I was so _blessed _to walk in on a moment ago. Skywarp, on the other hand, I didn't expect any less from you." He started. Both seekers looked at the floor in slight shame at his formal lecturing, Starscream felt somewhat in the wrong for what he had done, but in the end his and Skywarp's pleasure was more important than not mentally scarring Ratchet. Besides, he wasn't supposed to walk in on them anyway, but no, leave it to Skywarp to be too horny to remember to lock the Primus forsaken doors.

The medic continued in a slightly annoyed voice, "Skywarp, after what he's been through I didn't think that you'd even try anything like that with him! You could have damaged him!" Lectures were never fun, especially when both of them had heard the exact same one several times from Thundercracker already. It was always about what had happened to Starscream and how that he was 'damaged' or something along that line.

Skywarp sighed and made a talking motion with his hand, "Blah, blah, blah! Look, Screamer and I have done it many, many, many, many, many, _many _times, and he's never been 'damaged', at least not by me! He wants it, I want it, we do it, we get it over with, then we torture TC by telling him every little rough, erotic detail! You've screwed up our routine Ratchet, are you happy!" The dark seeker said with a bored expression, not bothering to hide it as Starscream simply nodded beside him, agreeing completely.

"Yeah Ratchet, just because of what Stormbringer did doesn't mean that I'm going to be celibate for the rest of my life! I like interfacing, I'm just iffy about who I trust and who I don't!" Starscream added, and there was no mistaking the annoyance in his tone. The red seeker rarely had to explain these things to anyone, and when he did it _never _failed to get on his nerves. Stormbringer was just one mech who had done a terrible thing to him, but after that Thundercracker protected him, he had sheltered him from the world for years, making sure that no other mechs besides his trinemates touched him. Skyfire had been the only exception, and that was Starscream's choice.

The medic looked at him intensely, blue optics trying to pry away the seeker's mental defenses and get him to open up. Ratchet had dealt with many rape patients before, and many of them suffered from denial about what had happened, but Starscream didn't deny the fact that he was raped, he just didn't seem to care. It was bizarre to Ratchet in the fact that the young seeker completely disassociated himself from the entire memory, only remembering it in nightmares unless forced to think of it by someone else. He hated to be the mech that brought it up and put Starscream through the pain of his memories, but at the same time he was intrigued with the seeker's apathy.

With a frustrated sigh Ratchet tried to push the logic of the situation into the young seeker's mind. "Starscream, you were only a child! I mean I'm glad that you don't let it bother you or anything but it confuses the hell out of me! I've seen so many others like you who won't even look another mech in the optics, and yet you act like nothing ever happened!" The medic yelled, temper rising out of sheer frustration at the situation.

Starscream cocked his hip and stared the medic down in disbelief, not exactly sure how to react to the Autobot's outburst. He had never been yelled at for not wanting to act like a rape victim, and in all honesty it was the most illogical thing he had ever seen anyone get flustered about.

It wasn't like he didn't know that what happened to him was wrong, of course it was wrong, and of course it haunted him that it had ever happened in the first place. However, he had no reason to torture himself with the thought, and the only way that he would even think back to that event was if a mech he didn't feel comfortable around tried to be intimate with him. And _that _never happened. Thundercracker nearly beheaded any mech that even gave Starscream a sideways glance, and any of the bolder ones were last seen being sold for spare parts.

Skywarp, sensing Starscream's growing unease, threw an arm around his trinemate's shoulder, "Screamer's stronger than he looks Ratchet." The violet and black seeker said supportively, Starscream managed a weak sort of smile and thought of replying, luckily he didn't find the time.

All three mechs turned their attention to Thundercracker as he walked into the med bay distractedly, talking quietly with someone who was following him.

"I don't believe that he would be interested in leaving the med bay! Nor do I think that it's in his best interest!" The blue seeker argued as kindly as possible, trying not to offend the mech who strode in behind him.

Of course, said mech only listened to him until he reached a point where he felt he could best ignore the seeker. The Autobot leader looked around the room for a moment, nodding a brief greeting to Ratchet before continuing to observe the bright space.

Starscream perked up when he saw Thundercracker, happy to see his other trinemate for the first time since earlier that morning. He left Skywarp's embrace to go to the other seeker, hugging him affectionately, Thundercracker had left earlier to discuss a sort of treaty with the Autobot twins, a no Jet-Judo/no scratching of paintjobs treaty. Starscream inclined his questioning gaze upward, searching his wingmate's expression. "Who wants me to leave the med bay?" The younger mech asked with curiosity evident in his tone, red optics peering up affectionately.

Thundercracker frowned and motioned backward to where Optimus was standing, hands clasped behind his back patiently. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. He just thinks it would do you good to be able to get out." The blue jet told him disdainfully, his current mood radiating through his energy field. He was beyond angry, in fact, he was feeling downright _murderous_. Starscream knew that Thundercracker didn't want him to leave the med bay at all in case he was attacked, let alone leave with Prime. He could partially agree with his reasoning, but then again what did he have to fear from Optimus Prime? The mech had been kind to him so far, and according to all of his soldiers he was the most tolerant mech in the galaxy.

He couldn't quite explain it, but if the war wasn't still raging then he would want to be friends with the Autobot commander, Optimus had proven to harbor nothing but the utmost respect for the seeker. In turn, Starscream respected him as well.

He shrugged Thundercracker's agitated mood away, something that he normally wouldn't do, and walked over to Optimus.

He looked at his trinemate's for a moment, a bit unsure, "I've been in the med bay for six weeks TC, I think he may be right, getting out for a little while might do me some good." Was all he could think of in terms of a good reason for wanting to leave the room. He and Skywarp both had been forced to remain in the med bay for the duration of their stay, and both were constantly hounded by Ratchet, and occasionally Wheeljack who would wander in to consolidate Starscream on one of his latest inventions. Thanks to the seeker's quick thinking there hadn't been a Wheeljack-related explosion in the Ark for about two weeks and counting.

He was feeling quite eager to be able to leave the med bay and stretch his legs properly, and Thundercracker be damned he was going to enjoy himself.

The blue seeker's expression looked disbelieving, torn between shock and horror. He didn't honestly think that Starscream would leave the safety of his trine to roam around in the Autobot base, especially seeing as how he might end up running into Skyfire, which wouldn't be good for either of the two.

However, Starscream's mind seemed to be made up, and he allowed himself to be led out of the room by a more-than-happy Optimus Prime.

Before the doors closed he smiled to his wingmates, "I'll be back in an hour or two, it's not like I'm running away!" The words were supposed to reassure his friends of his safety, but they only ended up stressing them out more.

Optimus walked leisurely beside the seeker as they made their way down the corridors of the Ark. Neither really had any specific destination, and if anything the Autobot leader was just content to be able to watch Starscream explore. The seeker was cute when he was curious.

Wings perked, head held high, and smile displaying happily on his lips, Starscream was certainly out to steal Prime's spark, at least that's what he thought. Then again, what mech in his right mind wouldn't think that the seeker was a lovely enough sight to steal anyone's affections?

With that thought in mind he was quick to try and start a conversation with the Decepticon flier, if he could earn Starscream's affections in return then perhaps there would be a chance of the seeker staying longer.

"Starscream, how have you been enjoying your stay?" He asked nonchalantly, voice soft and friendly, as always.

The small flier eyed him for a moment before shrugging, "It's been enjoyable I suppose, though entertainment has been quite lacking." He smiled, turning back to watch where he was walking, high-heeled pedes clicking rhythmically on the floor as he did so.

Optimus smiled behind his facemask, relieved to know that Starscream hadn't felt isolated or frightened while he had been with him. Of course, there was no telling whether he was actually being truthful or not, Starscream was known to profess a sense of bravado that he didn't really have in order not to look weak. In Optimus' opinion, Starscream wasn't weak at all, it took an extremely brave mech to be able to walk around in his enemies' base as if he owned the place.

The Autobot leader contented himself with observing the seeker, taking note of when he would pause and study some random human object that either Spike had brought in or the others had procured for entertainment. He seemed somewhat fascinated with them, lithe frame stilling and crimson optics wandering curiously over every inch of the object that was interesting him. Currently, said object was what the humans called a fog machine. It was most likely a left over prop from one of the twins' pranks, overlooked and forgotten by them once they found something else to use.

Starscream turned the small machine over in his hand a few times to study it further, mapping the external before venturing to scan the inside. He cocked his head at one point, but quickly resumed scanning the item.

After he was done concentrating he flipped the switch to cut the machine on, and after a moment of the thing making a few horrid noises it finally started to spill a light mist out from its vents.

Starscream smiled, intrigued by the device. He looked at Optimus, where the larger mech was watching with curiosity.

"It creates a dense vapor that appears similar to fog, hence the name, though it isn't actually the same as organic or naturally occurring mist. You see, it uses chemicals that react similarly to naturally occurring fog to produce a common and nearly identical affect, by vaporizing proprietary water and glycol-based or glycerin-based fluids or through the atomization of mineral oil, the fluid vaporizes or atomizes inside the fog machine. When it exits the fog machine and comes into contact with the moisture in the outside air the vapor condenses, resulting in the mist." The seeker explained avidly, no longer paying attention to the human-made device as he educated the Autobot leader.

Little did he know that Optimus was more busy looking at the mist as it spilled off of Starscream's hands and cascaded airily down the front of the flier's body, dissipating as it moved closer to the ground.

What he wouldn't give to have the seeker as his own at that very moment. He was the very picture of beauty, the perfect copy of a celestial being that had fallen from the heavens and now walked among mere mechs. How Megatron could be so cruel to him, Optimus would never know. It seemed impossible.

He stopped his staring when Starscream cut the fog machine off and placed it back where it had been on the floor. "I'm sure that whoever left it there will be back to get it." He smiled pleasingly, trying to avoid making optic contact with Optimus in fear of creating an awkward moment.

Optimus simply smiled, determined not to lose his chance at winning the seeker over. He thought over a few different things that he could do that would cause a positive reaction from the seeker. But, after much debating, he decided on the simplest form of romanticism that he could manage. With a barely contained sense of accomplishment he walked forward and carefully took hold of Starscream's hand, acting as if it was nothing more than a friendly gesture.

The flier looked surprised at first, crimson optics widening as he almost pulled his hand away from the larger mech's out of sheer shock. He didn't know Prime that well, but he had never expected him to be so bold as to actually _grab _his _hand_. Maybe it was just an Autobot thing, they were pacifists after all…just because he was holding his hand didn't mean that he wanted him to jump in the berth with him or anything like that, right?

With a nervous sort of smile he allowed for Optimus to continue the contact, seeing as how it wasn't harming him, though he would admit he was becoming slightly uncomfortable.

The larger mech led him down the confusing corridors of the Ark, remaining silent the entire time.

_So much for not creating an awkward moment_, the seeker thought to himself disdainfully.

Of course, Starscream could count stranger moments in his life, there was Thundercracker's odd ego-dominance phase, Skywarp's obsession with strange furry creatures called "tribbles", and then Megatron's apparent lapse in complete hatred of him. So this was nothing, he could handle holding hands with Optimus Prime, it wasn't like he had to worry about being cornered by him or anything.

It wasn't long before he found himself being taken through a door, walking into a room alongside the enemy leader without much thought as to exactly _where _it was that he was waltzing into. Nothing really alarmed him until he looked around and started recognizing key features of someone's quarters.

There was a berth situated in the far right corner of the room, and other than that there were two desks, a few bookshelves, and a table or two, all filled with archives and datapads. Starscream could make out the door to a closet and another door to what he could only guess were Optimus' personal washracks.

He let go of the Autobot leader's hand and took a step back worriedly, not sure what to do nor why he was here.

Optimus seemed to sense the seeker's growing unease of the situation, "Please, take a seat." He said quickly, trying to preserve the circumstances of non-hostility as much as he could. He motioned to a chair in front of the table in the center of the room, hoping that the seeker would calm down a little.

Starscream looked from him to the chair, wings twitching in uncertainty as he tried to convince himself that nothing was going to happen. It was just Optimus, and Optimus was a nice mech, he hadn't hurt him yet, and hopefully he wouldn't hurt him at all.

After a moment of nervous speculation Starscream finally went to the chair and sat down, crossing his legs and looking at Optimus tentatively. He hoped that he didn't make the Autobot commander uncomfortable by being so flighty. Then again, how was he supposed to react by being led into some mech's quarters? He didn't want to be in any situation that he couldn't control, let alone escape from.

Optimus pulled up a chair across from the seeker, fully intending to talk, which for some reason looked as if it only made Starscream more frightened than he already was.

He wasted no time in starting a conversation to ease the tension, "I apologize for not telling you that this was where I planned on talking to you at. I wanted a more private setting for what I plan on bringing up…" He explained in hopes that Starscream would relax a little instead of looking as if he were about to be killed at any moment.

The young seeker tilted his head in confusion, searching the other mech's optics for any sign of hostility. "What do you want to bring up so badly that it couldn't have been said in front of my trinemates?" He asked, voice suspicious and quiet. His wings shifted to point back almost immediately after speaking, a sign of aggression amongst seekers.

Perhaps this wasn't the beast time to bring this up.

Either way, he would have to ask him sometime or the other, and now may be his only chance.

Optimus sat forward in an almost interrogative manner, looking insistently at the small flier as he tried to gather the nerve to speak. This was going to be an extremely touchy subject, but if everything went right then Starscream would be staying in the Ark, permanently. And that, though it may be a risk, was too good an opportunity to pass up.

So, with any amount of confidence that he could manage, Optimus began what he had been both dreading and anticipating for the entire six weeks that Starscream had decided to stay. "Starscream, I know that this may be difficult for you, but I'm proposing that you remain here at the Ark instead of returning to your base." He told the seeker, he kept his tone level and calm, trying to do nothing more than maintain an atmosphere of self-assurance.

Starscream looked at him a little more confused, "Well, I've been here for weeks, I don't see the point in staying any longer but if you insist then I guess I could stay for a few more days or something…" He offered, a bit frightened of what would happen if he refused. It's not like staying for a little while longer would do any damage, the Decepticons could manage without their SIC, he was pretty sure that Soundwave was doing a good job of standing in for him anyways. "I'll just have to talk to Skywarp and Thundercracker and see what they—"

"I didn't mean for only a few days Starscream, I meant permanently." Optimus interrupted him, blue optics piercing into the seeker's own.

Starscream fell silent, wings lowering to an almost unknown flat against his back as he let the words sink in. Optimus wanted him to stay, permanently, with the Autobots, become an Autobot…but why? Why would he want him to stay, what in The Pit had even brought this up? He was the Second In Command and Air Commander of the Decepticon army, he was supposed to one of Prime's mortal enemies, and yet now the mech wanted him to become part of his army? He wanted him to stay…

Starscream's mind went over numerous things to say, to do, everything from insults to just remaining silent to running. Of course, in the end he decided to simply try reasoning.

"Optimus I'm a Decepticon, I can't just abandon my faction and join yours, I believe in the Decepticon cause, that's the whole reason I'm in this war to begin with." He admitted to the Autobot leader hesitantly, as he watched the mech he began to become more and more uneasy with the situation, praying to Primus that he wouldn't anger the larger mech while in his quarters.

The Autobot leader's voice never rose above the same calm level that it had been at before, "Starscream, you aren't fooling me. You can say that you joined because of the Decepticon cause all you want to, but I know that's not true. You did it because of what happened to Vos, and because of Megatron." At this point he leaned forward and stared directly into the seeker's optics, "You followed him because he was powerful, because he promised you safety and respect, but now look at where it's gotten you. He beats you, he doesn't listen to you, he deliberately mocks you in front of the very mechs that are supposed to be your subordinates, and he purposefully puts you in situations that he knows will get you hurt. So tell me, is there any logical reason for you to stay with the Decepticons? You can't say it's for the cause, there is no cause anymore, there's only him. And you know that your trine will follow you no matter what, so that's no excuse either. Tell me Starscream, why would you go back to him?" He was unbearably insistent as he spoke the hurtful words that Starscream thought to be true. If he convinced the seeker that he had nothing to return to then he knew that he would stay, he wouldn't return to Megatron.

Of course, the guilty feeling in the back of Optimus' mind was something he would have to live with, he knew that Megatron wanted Starscream back, that he was actually so focused on only Starscream that he didn't even care to remember that Thundercracker had been captured at the time. Even now Optimus received angered threats every day from the Decepticon leader wanting to know how the seeker was recovering. But he didn't want to risk having the young flier go back only to be beaten again. He also didn't want Starscream to leave, he desperately wanted the seeker to stay with _him_.

Starscream's gaze fell to the floor in a silent plea for the entire conversation to come to a stop, he didn't want to hear about how much he was hated, nor did he want to be reminded of all the humiliation he had suffered over the millennia.

However, Optimus pressed on, "He doesn't care whether you return or not Starscream. To him, you're expendable, nothing more than a toy that can be replaced once broken."

"I'm not a toy…and, I-I won't break. I've been through too much to break now, I've dealt with the humiliation for as long as I care to remember and that hasn't made me want to switch factions yet. Megatron is just…he's…I can't explain it. He doesn't hate me, he just reacts to how I treat him! I'm the one that deserves it, I'm the instigator, I cause all of the pain that I receive!" The seeker tried to explain nervously, voice hitching as he nearly broke down from the admission. "He's a great leader, he's a great mech. He just, doesn't know that I think that of him…he thinks I hate him, and in turn he thinks he must hate me. But before all of this, before Skyfire attacked me, he tried to tell me that he cared about me, he apologized for everything that he had done…but I, I refused to accept it, I got mad at him and wouldn't listen. This is all my fault…" For the first time since that night his mind registered the fact that Megatron had _apologized _to him, to _him_. He had actually swallowed his pride and had shown the seeker some compassion for once. Starscream searched the memory file for the reassurance that it hadn't merely been a dream, that he hadn't been imagining the entire thing. The Decepticon leader, the same mech who had nearly killed him countless times, had both apologized to him and admitted that he cared about him in one night, one night that he had completely blocked out.

"I'm a fool…" Starscream said quietly as he sank into his chair, optics wide with disbelief at the sudden revelation. "He tried to tell me, and I completely ignored him…I'm a fool."

Optimus didn't exactly know what to say to the seeker, but he knew that his chance for changing his mind was slipping through his fingers. He couldn't let Starscream leave, the seeker would be better off with him, not Megatron.

"Think about it Starscream, you would be happy here. You would be happy with me." He told him softly, placing a hand on the seeker's shoulder and causing the younger mech to look at him. Starscream's expression looked forlorn, hesitant, completely unsure.

"But…I'm happy with him, I'm happy with my trine, I'm happy being a Decepticon. Megatron has done so much for me Optimus, so much more than he's ever hurt me. Even if he's not the most _gentle _mech in the world it doesn't mean that there's any reason I would leave him. I like the fact that he's strict, I like the fact that he's aggressive, I like his hands on me, even when it hurts, you don't understand…" Starscream could see the confusion and disbelief in the other mech's optics as he tried to explain, but he couldn't possibly make Optimus see how he felt. Starscream couldn't help but bury his head in his hands wearily, what sense was there in trying to explain something that he himself didn't even understand? "He completes me…he's powerful where I'm weak, he's brave where I'm a coward, he's assertive where I'm not. He does what's necessary as a leader Optimus, something that you can't do." A small smile played on the seeker's lips as he came to the realization that he cared about Megatron just as the Decepticon warlord had said he cared for him. He didn't fear him any longer, he didn't hate him any longer—not that he ever really did—no, he _adored _him, he had adored him ever since he first met him, he loved him. As crazy, sick and twisted as it may have sounded, Starscream truly loved him, he loved the abuse, he loved the attention, he loved his leader.

Optimus raised an optic ridge at the leadership remark, "And how is he more capable of a leader than I am?" He asked curiously, watching as Starscream's expression turned cold.

The seeker looked at him with slight uncertainty, his optics nearly burning holes straight through Prime's soul. "Tell me to do something." He said plainly, voice flat and apathetic.

Optimus was silent, looking confusedly at the young mech, "Excuse me?" He asked.

Starscream just frowned, "Tell me to do something. Give me a command."

The Autobot leader stalled for a moment, but seeing no reason to deny the seeker he merely shrugged and thought something up, "Alright. Why don't you go file all of the reports on my desk." He ordered skeptically.

Starscream smirked, "No."

He was really at a loss now, "But you told me to give you a command."

"Yes, I did. And I didn't obey that command, so now what?" His smirk turned into a devious smile and he crossed his arms over his chest victoriously.

Optimus looked at him as if he didn't make any sense, "What now? Well, you didn't obey me, I guess that means I'll have to find you something else to do."

Starscream leaned forward slightly, "Wrong answer. You see, that's not teaching me anything. As a leader you should assert the fact that you _are _indeed the leader, and that means punishment. You didn't punish me in the least, therefore you didn't set any boundaries between leader and subordinate. I could disobey you all I wanted to and never have to worry about being reprimanded for it, it's too easy." He informed him smartly, looking the very picture of smugness.

Optimus shrugged, "Well then, what do you propose I do?" He inquired.

Starscream leaned close with a devious smile, wings fanning broadly in a wonderful display of excitement. With a soft, flowing tone he looked Prime in the optics and spoke two simple words. "_Hit me_." There was no hint of kidding in his voice, the look on his face even more serious. He fully intended for the Autobot leader to hit him.

The larger mech leaned back, looking slightly surprised, "What? Why would I hit you, that's hardly a fitting punishment! You don't deserve to be hit just because you disobeyed a simple order Starscream!" He said blatantly appalled at the very idea of striking the seeker. What in Primus' name had made the young mech want to be hit in the first place?

Starscream smiled happily, "But don't I? I disobeyed your order, a simple one at that, who's to say that I wouldn't disobey an important one? That is where Megatron makes a better leader than you Optimus, he isn't afraid to put his subordinates in their places. And that is where I've made so many mistakes. He would treat me like his equal if I didn't disobey him, but when I do he won't hesitate to show me where I stand. But you wouldn't, you would allow me to walk all over you and despite what everyone may think, I don't want to take advantage of your hospitality. You've been a good friend to me Optimus."

Optimus listened to the seeker in disbelief, not wanting to acknowledge anything that he had just said. How could he accept Megatron's abuse like that, how could he think that being struck for disobeying orders was fitting at all? There were other means of punishment that were far more reasonable. However, what really had the Autobot leader the most frustrated was the use of the word "friend". How could he not understand his advances so far? Optimus looked at the seeker in slight desperation, "Starscream, I don't want you to stay here as my subordinate, I'm not trying to be your _leader_, I want you to stay here as my friend, but as more than that, my lover." He explained, clarifying his intentions as best he could to the flier sitting before him. He had tried and tried to get Starscream to see that he was in love with him from the moment that he had come back online in the holding cell. And yet, after all the time they had spent talking and becoming friends, becoming close, Starscream didn't see him as anything more than just that, a friend.

The Autobot leader stared at the seeker fixedly, as if he was trying to force all of his thoughts and emotions into Starscream's processor. But all he received was an incredulous and mistrustful look. Starscream looked at him in shock, "You love me?" He asked, expression curious and suspicious as he grew uncomfortable. He should have known, he should have read Optimus' actions for what they really were instead of passing them off as friendly gestures. He had been leading him on all this time without even knowing it, and now the mech was in love with him. Sure Optimus was a nice mech, he was sweet, and kind, and gentle, but he wasn't exactly Starscream's type, and despite everything that he had done for him, he wasn't in love with Optimus. His spark belonged to another mech, a mech that he fully intended on returning to.

The seeker stood up and looked at Optimus sorrowfully, "You've done so much for me, but I, I don't have feelings for you Optimus…you're a friend to me, you've been kind where you had no place nor reason to be, I owe you, so, so much. But I don't love you, I can't." With that he began to walk towards the door, trying to avoid saying anything else in fear of the situation turning hostile.

Optimus quickly stood as well, walking in front of him and preventing him from leaving. "Starscream, please think about what you're doing! You could be happy with me, I wouldn't hurt you." He pleaded, grabbing the seeker's hands desperately and pulling him to him.

Starscream tried to pull away as fear raced through him, "Optimus let me go! I've already told you that I don't feel the same way about you that you do about me! Please, just let me go!" He said levelly, trying to pull back once more when the Autobot leader didn't release him. To make matters worse, the larger mech simply tightened his grip on Starscream's wrists.

"I won't let you go back to being abused Starscream, you deserve better." Optimus growled, pulling the seeker closer.

The young flier looked up at him in terror, "You don't understand, he won't hurt me I just have to explain a few things and that's it, he cares about me! I just didn't listen to him, he tried to tell me that he doesn't want to hurt me anymore Optimus. Please, just let me go, I need to tell him that this was all just a stupid mistake on my part, please."

"I won't let you go back to him Starscream." Optimus repeated, this time retracting his face mask and kissing the seeker harshly, forcefully.

Starscream squeaked in surprise and pulled back desperately, fighting against Optimus' grip as best he could. He could feel the other mech's glossa invading his mouth, and fear struck him into almost complete stillness. He didn't know what to do, what could he do? Optimus was bigger than him, he was stronger than him and could easily hurt him if he wanted to. But if he let this continue then things could take a turn for the worst. He quickly thought of everything from defense strategies, attack strategies, pleas, stalls, evasions and even negotiations, but as Optimus continued his assault Starscream couldn't think of anything to do other than just do _something_.

He quickly bit down on the Autobot leader's glossa as hard as possible, immediately causing the larger mech to release him and step back in surprise.

Starscream took advantage of the moment to run past him and out of the room, sprinting down the corridors as fast as he could, but as he made it to the corner of a hallway he felt a strong grip on the back of his neck.

He was wrenched backwards instantly into the grip of his assailant, and despite his attempts to scream he found it impossible. Optimus covered the seeker's mouth and carried him back to his quarters, where, once inside, he shut and locked the door. Starscream kicked and scratched at the mech as best he could, trying frantically to escape his grip and run. But no matter how much he struggled Optimus refused to release him.

"Just listen to me Starscream." The larger mech said in a calming tone, speaking into the flier's audio, "I can show you that there's more than just pain, more than the abuse that you've suffered with him…just trust me. Stay with me." As he spoke he took the seeker over to his berth and forced him down, allowing him to speak as he uncovered his mouth.

Starscream hissed and tried to kick at Optimus once more, furiously attempting to get away, "You're insane!" He screamed, optics wide and terrified as he watched the Autobot leader descend on him, pinning him to the berth.

"I'm not insane, I merely care about you Starscream, and I want you to be safe. You wont be safe with him." He purred, stroking the seeker's thighs inattentively, "I can give you anything you want, I'll allow you to be my equal, you can lead whenever you want to, as long as you stay here with me."

The hand that was stroking his thighs moved to his interface panel, rubbing suggestively and with a force that was bordering on painful. Starscream panicked, he didn't want this to happen, he didn't want to do this with Optimus. He knew that it would hurt just like it hurt when Stormbringer had done this to him. Against his will he could feel tears streaming down his cheeks, brought on by fear. He was so scared, he wanted nothing more than for his trinemates, or Ratchet, or Megatron to protect him, to take him away from this. He couldn't protect himself, Optimus was much stronger than him.

"Please don't do this! I'm begging you Optimus, if you really love me then you wouldn't hurt me like this, you wouldn't be keeping me like this!" Starscream said quickly, crying uncontrollably as his worst nightmare was brought back to life in the form of a mech he thought he could trust. He should have never been such a fool as to trust his enemy, he should have left as soon as he had come back online in the med bay instead of being persuaded by his charm. Now he was going to end up paying for his stupidity.

Optimus stopped his petting and looked down at the trapped seeker with slight worry, a hint of guilt in his blue optics. He stayed still for a long while and simply stared at Starscream with rapt attention, occasionally moving down to kiss his neck. The young flier didn't know what to think, he was far too scared to say anything else, and far too smart to try and struggle anymore in case it provoked Optimus into any further action.

The larger mech sighed and looked away from him in uncertainty, "You're right…" He said reluctantly, sitting up and watching as Starscream instantly scrambled to get as far away from him as possible. The seeker was across the room in no time, blue fingers scrabbling against the door distraughtly as he tried to disengage the locking mechanism. Optimus stood from the berth and walked over to him, ignoring when the seeker hissed at him and backed away, he could understand Starscream's fear of him. The Autobot leader unlocked the door and allowed it to open, he then looked back to Starscream, "I'm no better than he is…you should go, before I end up hurting you."

Starscream looked at the door and then at Optimus, not trusting that if he made an attempt to escape that he wouldn't be grabbed. He was well aware that this could be a trick meant to get his hopes up before crushing them mercilessly. What if Optimus was only toying with him?

He stepped back again, wings lowering and stance poised to fight if the Autobot leader made another advance, he refused to be ravaged by his enemy, even if it would cost him his life. However, the larger mech didn't make any move to try and capture him. "Just leave Starscream before I change my mind." He said softly, stepping away from the door and giving Starscream plenty of room to get through without fearing anything.

And of course, the seeker wasted no time in running out the door and down the halls as fast as his legs would let him. His mind was filled with the thoughts of what had just happened, what _could _have happened. He realized that Optimus could have easily held him down and taken what he wanted, and the very idea of it was enough to make Starscream's energon run cold in his lines. He was lucky that things hadn't turned out worse.

Finally he reached the med bay, and when he ran through the doors he was met by two extremely worried wingmates and an equally worried Ratchet.

Thundercracker acknowledged his younger trinemate's heavy breathing and the small cut on his lip, as well as how he was shaking, tears staining his face. "Starscream, what happened?" He asked as he rushed to the smaller seeker, carefully enveloping him in a protective embrace.

Skywarp looked almost horrified as Starscream simply shook his head and explained, "Optimus, he just, he doesn't want me to leave. He said he was in love with me or something like that and I denied him and then he just, he just wouldn't let me leave! He doesn't want me to go back to Megatron. But I want to go back! We have to leave, we have to leave now!"

Thundercracker and Skywarp both wasted no time in immediately taking their trine leader's side, and yet Skywarp tried to reason with him. "It's like midnight in Earth time Starscream. Are you sure we have to leave now?" Skywarp asked tiredly, giving the smaller seeker an exhausted look. What were the chances that anyone in the Nemesis would even let them in at this time of night? They'd probably be shot down. Then again, maybe he was just thinking like an idiot, he should probably leave the worrying to Thundercracker.

Starscream nodded vigorously, "Yes. He almost raped me Skywarp! I just want to go home, I need to see Megatron, please!" He begged fearfully, wings humming from the sheer amount of stress that he was in. He wanted to leave so badly, he wanted to be where he would be safe.

Thundercracker's gaze hardened, "He tried to rape you…Come on, we're going back to base right now." He ordered, leaving no room for Skywarp to argue as he grabbed the violet and black seeker's arm, grabbing Starscream as well. "Teleport us out of here."

Skywarp nodded and waved to Ratchet quickly, "Bye Hatchet! We'll miss you!" He said cheerfully before warping the three of them out of the Ark and into the cold nighttime air outside.

Instantly they transformed and began tearing through the sky towards the Nemesis, the wind literally whipping at their frames as they reached breakneck speeds.

Thundercracker and Skywarp both had to fight to try and keep up with Starscream, but even when they reached their top speeds they were still not fast enough to catch up with him. He was hell-bent on getting back to base as quickly as he could, and Thundercracker knew why. Despite knowing that Starscream had been hurt he had a strange feeling that once everything was explained to Megatron that the youngest of their trine wouldn't be hurt anymore. He could at least trust Megatron not to harm Starscream, at least not after what Soundwave had explained to him.

The flight to the Nemesis was quick and silent, and once they were close enough they transformed and allowed Skywarp to teleport them inside.

Thundercracker made an attempt to try and talk to Starscream once they were safely within the walls of their base, but as soon as the younger mech's pedes hit the ground he took off running.

Skywarp looked at him confused, "Where is he going?" He asked curiously.

Thundercracker sighed and shook his head in frustration, "Where do you think he's going?"

Unlike the Ark, Starscream knew every inch of the Nemesis, the halls didn't confuse him, and he knew exactly where he was headed. He sprinted quickly to the nearest lift and impatiently rode it to the top floor of the base, each floor he passed seeming like it was causing the lift to go slower and slower.

Finally, it stopped, doors opening and allowing him to exit and head towards his destination.

Maybe this wasn't the best idea he had ever had, and maybe it wasn't the right time either, but he wasn't thinking straight anyways, and now it was too late to run away. Besides, he wanted to admit that he had made a mistake, he needed to.

He reached the huge doors at the end of the hall and took a moment to try and calm his erratic breathing, to try and seem less scared than he really was. And then he pressed the comm. on the wall.

A few moments later and the doors opened to reveal a very irritated and still-mostly-asleep Megatron.

It only took a few seconds, however, for the Decepticon leader to fully wake up and realize what he was looking at. Crimson optics locked with one another's in disbelief, and Megatron could only think that he was dreaming.

"Starscream?"

O~O~O

THERE! It's done, one of the hardest chapters so far, phew…lol so yeah anyways next chapter is full of smutteh goodnesses with lots and lots and lots of dirty, hot interfacing.

Yep, I didn't cover that up at all! Oh well it's something for you guys to look forward to!

BTW! If any of you haven't read a story called Apex yet, then you need to go read it like ASAP! It's by Dreamline, and she's like the bestest most coolest person evar! She's a wonderful author and the plot and detail to her fic is absolutely amazing! It'll make you become an Apex-addict like I am! Lol so yeah, I'll have the next chapter(which might be the last one) up in about a week or two, until then you guys have fun with this one ^.^


	13. Chapter 13

Hi! Random here, I bring you this chapter's opening in kitteh language, *cough cough* Meow, meow, meow, mrrrow, mew meow, meow, hhhiiiiiiiiiissssssssssssss! = fur ball.

Lol just kidding! If I could really speak cat then that would be pretty cool, but I can't so yeah, that might as well have been gibberish.

Anyways, this is the last chapter! :D

I'm so excited! And as I promised before, it will be full of smutty goodness, so most of the chapter is basically rated M and R and whatever else is above that, like X or something!

Yay! Omg yay, yay, yay, yay, yay!

In case you haven't guessed already I enjoy writing and reading slash, so if you don't like that kind of stuff then navigate away from here unless you want be scarred for life! Also, seeing as how I haven't mentioned this before, I do not own Transformers, Hasbro does…unfortunately :o

They should give Transformers to the Fangirls! We all have so many great ideas for the smexy mechs TT^TT

Oh well, without further ado, Chapter the last!

Ch.13

He had to be imagining things. There was no way in hell nor Earth that Starscream was standing in front of him, looking as frightened and lost as he had ever seen the seeker before. Those beautiful ruby optics were staring at him in desperation, every hidden emotion in the young flier's eyes seemingly spilling over into the constant streams of blue fluorescence that were his tears.

He was sure that this was some kind of dream his mind had come up with to pacify how much he missed the seeker, though normally his dreams were plagued with the day of the battle that had taken Starscream from him. The look of pure agony that was on his seeker's beautiful features as he cried out for him would haunt him for the rest of his life. This dream wasn't much different he supposed, Starscream still looked hurt, and he still didn't have the seeker with him, he inwardly cursed his mind for presenting him with such cruel images. If only he could stop thinking of it then maybe he could actually get some proper rest, but there was no way he could when he was constantly being reminded that he had failed to protect the mech he…no, he refused to think about it.

This was by far the closest he had been to the seeker in any of his recent dreams, usually they were a replay of the small flier being carried away helplessly with nothing he could do about it. But now…now he was close enough to touch.

Without much thought into the action he reached forward and placed his hand on Starscream's cheek, feeling the young flier's smooth metal skin beneath his hand. Oh and it felt wonderful, just like the last time he had ever been so close to his second. He caressed his cheek carefully, being gentle and tender as he relished in the feeling of being able to see Starscream, if only in a dream. He stared at him for a long time, taking in every detail of his expression with both joy and sorrow, what he wouldn't give for this to be reality.

The seeker looked so frightened, terrified almost. Megatron noticed the cut on his bottom lip which was still bleeding and immediately his thoughts raced to what could have happened to him. Someone may have hit him, he may have been beaten, and so help him Primus if that was true then the Autobots would have hell to pay, whether he was just imagining things or not.

The longer he stood looking at his seeker the more he could feel an indistinguishable pain rise within him, impacting his spark like a freight train going full speed. He didn't understand why he felt that way every time he thought of Starscream, before the battle it had never hurt him so badly to see him unless they had been in an argument where he had damaged the seeker. Then again, that may have explained it, every time he saw Starscream in pain he hurt as well. He cared so much about the seeker that it was beginning to drive him mad at having to be away from him, and the apparition standing before him wasn't helping him any.

A bit reluctantly, Megatron turned away from the young seeker, intending to leave the dream behind and hopefully wake up so that he could contact the Ark and harass the medic on Starscream's condition.

However, as soon as he turned his back to Starscream he felt a light pressure on his wrist, almost unsure seeing as how it was a barely there grip.

He stopped dead in his tracks, incredulously thinking over all of his previous dreams that involved the seeker, none of which had ever seen a reaction from Starscream that involved touching. Though he would admit it seemed surprisingly real, real enough to cause concern.

He turned back to Starscream, looking both slightly confused and uncertain, and watched as small blue hands slid from his wrist to his larger black one.

A disbelieving expression played on the Decepticon commander's face as he watched Starscream carefully, the seeker staring at him in pure emotional distress. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" He asked, running his thumb across one of Starscream's hands gently.

The young mech looked at him incredulously, shaking his head fervently as more tears streamed from his optics, "No! Megatron this isn't a dream, I-I'm sorry but I " He stopped himself mid-sentence to bury his face in Megatron's chest as even more tears came, he was trembling uncontrollably, still clutching his leader's hand as he wept, "As much as I hate to say this, I need you…" The Decepticon leader could honestly say that he had been expecting anything other than that to come from the seeker's lips, but that one small confession hadn't even been on his mind. Of course, it wasn't a bad thing that Starscream had said he needed him, it was more surprising than anything, but he wasn't going to deny the seeker.

Gently, he wrapped his arms around Starscream's still-trembling form, embracing him protectively as he tried to get him to calm down. Whatever had happened to the seeker must have done something to make him like this, he was frightened beyond any form of the word and despite the tyrant's want to simply push him away for being weak, he couldn't. Well, it wasn't so much that he couldn't, it was more the fact that he really saw no need to, true, Starscream was crying and trembling in his arms, and yet he was unexplainably _happy _that the seeker was in his arms period. To push him away for something as trivial as a mental weakness at a moment like this would have been his greatest mistake by far. No, whatever it was that had caused the seeker any pain, he decided that it would have to be dealt with, by _him_. He could always send Starscream to Hook in order to sort it out, but he would prefer to handle it on a more personal scale.

As carefully as possible he guided the young flier into his quarters, assuring that the doors were shut so that no one would overhear anything the smaller mech decided to share. That is, if he decided to share anything in his current state.

He led Starscream to a chair by his desk and promptly forced him to sit down, staying optic level with the seeker as he tried to calm himself, which would most likely take a little while. Regardless, he was perfectly content staying by his seeker until he felt like he was competent enough to speak.

The young mech looked completely petrified by whatever ordeal he had been put through, he couldn't even look Megatron in the optics, always averting his gaze every time the warlord would try and establish a connection. If only he could realize that it was for the better, that he was only trying to help him and get him to talk about what had happened. After all, there was no reason why Starscream would have appeared at his quarters in the middle of the night for no reason, he had already admitted that he needed him. But what did he need him for? And what was the sense in him even telling him something of the sort if he didn't intend to do anything but sit there and cry?

When the seeker continued to stay silent Megatron knew he would have to be the one to initiate a conversation. The larger mech took Starscream's hand carefully, paying no attention when the young flier cringed at the unexpected touch. "Alright, you said you needed me Starscream, now, instead of sitting there and bawling like a sparkling why don't you tell me what you need me for?" He asked, trying to sound as apathetic as possible in order to preserve his dignity. Despite his want to be as loving as he possibly could, his ego simply wouldn't allow it, every thought of simply picking the seeker up and crushing him in an embrace was pushed away. He would find out what Starscream needed, give it to him, and then send the flier on his way. It was that simple.

Or so he thought.

Starscream finally looked him in the optics, the expression on his face one of pure torment, and with that Megatron felt all of his carefully constructed denial break away. He couldn't keep telling himself that he didn't love Starscream, he couldn't remain being the emotionless, hateful and cold mech that he had been for so many millennia. The truth was that he wanted to admit to Starscream how he felt, and by the look within his seeker's scintillating crimson optics, he was thinking along the same line.

Starscream composed himself as best he could, gripping Megatron's hand as tight as possible. His was still trembling, still looking as if he were some sort of weak youngling that couldn't control their emotions, but no matter how hard he tried to calm himself he just couldn't. All he could manage was to look at his leader and try his best to explain himself in hopes that he wouldn't be rejected.

He had never imagined himself saying this to Megatron, and his already damaged ego took another harsh blow at the words. "I'm a fool."

Judging by Megatron's expression the Decepticon commander had never expected for him to say that either. The larger mech sighed and made a 'continue' motion with his free hand, "I know that Starscream, now what do you really need?" He asked, thoroughly frustrated at this point. Why couldn't the seeker just get this over with already? It wasn't as if anyone was holding him back.

Starscream's intakes hitched in a silent cry as he tried to explain further, body still shaking from the anxiety of his earlier situation and mind racing with the need to simply be heard.

"I need you…just you." He tried once more to clarify himself, to make Megatron understand. "I made a mistake when you tried to tell me that you cared…I didn't listen to you, and now I need you." He wasn't making any sense, if anything he probably looked like an idiot and was only making Megatron angry. Even with that in mind he continued, trying to get his point across, "It's hard to explain, but while I was at the Autobot base I came to the realization that I…well, I'm a fool. For not…listening to you." That was it, he definitely had no ego left now, nor did he have his dignity, it had all already run off screaming bloody murder into the darkness of his wounded subconscious. He would never be able to look Megatron in the optics after this, knowing that the larger mech would simply throw his weakness back in his face vindictively.

Megatron frowned, "And how, exactly, did you come to this startling revelation?" He asked sarcastically, stringing the seeker along in what was becoming the most complicated interrogation he had ever given. If it had taken him all these eons just to admit he was a fool then he really didn't want to know how long it would take for the seeker to tell him what had happened in order to put him in this state.

Starscream shifted uncomfortably, gaze seemingly glued to the floor as he tried to word his sentence carefully. "Let's just say that while I was in the Ark recovering, Prime seemed to become somewhat…attached to me. And when I attempted to return here he was _reluctant _to let me leave." The angered hiss in his tone sounded far more familiar to Megatron than the terrified airiness from before. At least he didn't have to worry about his seeker being permanently altered by whatever pacifist horrors he had endured at the Autobot base. And as far as Prime's…attachment to him, well, that could always be dealt with on the battlefield. Megatron hated to think of himself as a jealous mech, but the very thought of his nemesis laying even a single servo on _his _Starscream made him feel nothing less than murderous. Optimus Prime wasn't even fit to cycle the same air as Starscream, let alone _feel _anything towards him.

The Decepticon leader composed himself and frowned lightly, "Reluctant to let you leave? He tried to stop you?"

Starscream tensed slightly and leaned back in the chair, trying to preserve a sense of apathy, if not anger, as he explained exactly how _reluctant _Optimus was to let him leave. "He attempted to keep me in the Ark by pinning me to his berth, you can guess what for." The seeker growled, all fear lost from his voice as he regained the courage he had been so wrongfully stripped of at the enemy base.

Megatron's mouth dropped open in what Starscream guessed was supposed to be surprise, the warlord's optics were locked onto his almost instinctively before suddenly he was a flurry of motion. The silver mech was to his pedes in no time, pacing in front of Starscream angrily. "He tried to interface with you? That disgusting, rusted, poorly-programmed son of a glitch! I should destroy him for this!" He shouted, leaving his second to stare at him in uncertainty.

"Shouldn't you want to destroy him because he's your enemy?" The seeker asked, feeling a little prideful that his leader would become so angered at Prime just because of him. It was a wonderful feeling, knowing that Megatron actually cared enough to become so for lack of a better phrase "pissed off" when another mech tried to touch him. Had he known about the warlord's feelings for him sooner, then he would have tried to invoke such reactions more often, it would help in rebuilding his nonexistent ego.

Megatron continued pacing, "The next time I see that pathetic excuse for a mech I'll be sure and aim my fusion cannon somewhere _other _than his spark! Somewhere much lower."

That sounded painful, but would be most amusing to watch. And, Starscream would admit, he would enjoy seeing Optimus pay for what he'd done. It was humiliating, to be so weak and in such a position as what Optimus had put him in, and then to come back and practically throw himself in his leader's arms wailing like a dejected sparkling…he would never live this down. Of course, as far as the fear had gone, he had every right to be afraid, it would take an idiot to not be afraid of being ravaged by one's greatest enemy. So, he supposed he could always justify the way he had cried in that sense, it was a natural reaction. Hopefully Megatron would understand that.

The Decepticon leader finally stopped, looking down at his second in barely-contained fury, "And you! You _are _a fool!" He seethed, fighting the urge to simply strangle the seeker right then and there. "Why couldn't you have contacted me when the problem had first reared its head instead of giving it time to progress into this mess? You could have easily commed the Nemesis and came back. But no, apparently you were perfectly content with being drooled over by Optimus Prime! And instead of returning to base like you should have you stayed and were nearly ra "

Wait. This wasn't Starscream's fault. The seeker couldn't help that he had attracted Prime, no more than he could help Megatron's attraction to him. It was simply a case of bad luck…

With a less-than-relieved sigh, Megatron conceded to merely sink to his knees in front of the seeker to be optic level once more. "I am also a fool…" He admitted, leaning forward and resting his helm in Starscream's lap. "I am a fool for beating you…however, you're a fool for never telling me that all of those deplorable, half-cocked, pathetic takeover attempts were nothing more than a lie. If you would have told me that that was some ingenious plan of yours then I would have never hurt you to begin with. This is all your fault." He groaned, any anger leaving him in that instant. It was true, this was indeed all Starscream's fault, and the seeker knew it.

Of course, as was Starscream's nature, the young flier completely ignored the blame and indignantly decided to remain silent, sticking out his lower lip and whipping his head around to glare at the wall like a spoiled youngling. He had nothing to say to his leader's accusations, so what if he was right? He could have told Megatron, but then he would have been laughed at. _Or_, he could have told Megatron and gotten the slag beaten out of him for even suggesting something so stupid _and _been laughed at. It was the wiser choice to not tell him, get the slag beat out of him nearly every day, and get laughed at for his pitiful attempts!…okay, in retrospect perhaps it wasn't the best idea, but Primus be damned before he would admit it!

"Your silence shows that you agree, Starscream." Megatron stated calmly, lifting his head so that he could look at the seeker.

"And what if I do?" Starscream hissed, "The fact that we are both idiots for falling for my moronic ruse in the first place should placate your smugness, O' mighty leader!" He told him sarcastically, optics narrowed in slight resentment before he merely sighed and relaxed.

"I suppose that this all could have been avoided if I weren't the fool to start with. I should have told you, I should have listened, I should have come back as soon as that medic told me I was finished recovering…" He knew that arguing with his leader over something so trivial would get him nowhere, if anything it would send them both back to how they had been before this whole incident. And, despite wanting to preserve a sense of superiority, Starscream knew that he couldn't keep up all of his sarcastic comebacks. He didn't want to be the annoying, berating, vindictive brat he had been for as long as he had known the older mech. No, if they could get along then perhaps things could take a turn for the better…and perhaps things like his little incident with Prime wouldn't happen anymore.

Megatron snorted in disbelief at the seeker's words, "Finally putting your pride aside I see." He smirked, almost tempted to insult the seeker just to see if he would react, not that he would.

Starscream smirked as well, "If it will prevent things like what I've been trough these past few weeks, then yes."

"So what are you proposing? A truce of some sort?" Megatron asked, standing up and pulling the seeker against him in a limp embrace, which to his great pleasure, earned him a smile from Starscream.

The young flier thought it over for a moment, a truce would settle all of this between them…they could finally stop focusing on fighting and violence and start focusing on the more important things. "I suppose a truce would be the most logical plan. Name your terms." He was going to enjoy this, whatever Megatron wanted from him, he would give it freely, and in turn, the warlord would have to give something as well. He already had a feeling that he knew what Megatron wanted, and he had been wanting the same thing for Primus only knew how long. It would be a relief to finally see how this played out.

Of course, Megatron didn't take long to think over what he wanted.

"My terms are simple, I want your absolute loyalty, and quite simply, _you_." He smiled, "I believe it's about time that I staked a claim to you, after all, if I had done so sooner, then Prime would have kept his distance."

Starscream nodded, he had been expecting this, even if it had come later than what he would have liked. He had always loved Megatron, always loved his leader's hands on him even if they brought nothing but pain, and the fact that the mech was now "staking claim to him" was nothing more than a dream come true. What he didn't understand was why it had taken his leader so long to finally do this…hadn't he sent out all the right signals before? He had been sure to flaunt himself whenever possible, he preformed all of his most daring aerial maneuvers when he looked, he fanned his wings, he polished himself _every slagging day_, and all that that ever accomplished was gaining the attention of other mechs, never Megatron! Optimus Prime was a perfect example of that. It only took a few weeks for that moron to fall helm over pedes for him, but after millennia of trying to gain his leader's attention he had never thought he succeeded.

It was at least nice to know that he had indeed been paying attention to all of his hard work, even if he never bothered to admit it.

Starscream sighed and rested his helm against Megatron's broad chest, "Alright…you can have me, but in turn I want you to beat the slag out of Prime. As a matter of fact, kill him and bring me his head on a stake, it would go so nicely in here." He smiled contentedly, allowing Megatron to let out a pleased growl and pull him tighter against his frame.

"As you wish." He smirked, taking Starscream's chin and forcing the seeker to look up at him. Those beautiful ruby optics locked with his and all at once he could feel the amazing euphoria of knowing that Starscream was finally _his_. Without wasting any more time he crushed their lips together passionately, making a reality of what had only been in his dreams for so many millennia.

Starscream pressed even closer to him, wrapping his arms around his leader's neck and moaning into his mouth eagerly. He felt Megatron's glossa force his lips apart, pushing into his mouth to explore.

The seeker had such a unique taste, it was wonderful, liberating almost, and the fact that he was so willingly handing himself over only served to intoxicate the Decepticon commander further. He had waited so long for this, wanting so badly to have Starscream flush against him and practically writhing for his attention.

When he broke the kiss it was only to move his attention to the seeker's throat, caressing the sensitive cables with his lips and drawing a surprised yip from the small flier.

It was so different from what he was used to, instead of powerful hands crushing his vocalizer in a fit of rage there was only the calming pleasure. Had he known that his leader was capable of such things before then he would have taken a different approach to try and gain his attention.

"Since when did you learn how to be gentle?" The seeker teased, digging his fingers into Megatron's shoulder joint none-too-softly and earning himself a slightly pained hiss from the larger mech.

Megatron looked at his second with a cruel glint in his optics, "I've known for quite some time, not that you ever earned the privilege of being treated gently, Starscream." He said in the seeker's audio, keeping his tone soft before the hand he had on the flier's hip became much too tight for Starscream's liking. "Of course, I can be rough if that's what you want…it is what you're used to after all…"

The seeker growled at him softly and nipped at his leader's neck, placing his hand on Megatron's and carefully removing it from his hip to let it rest on his lower back, "Surprise me." He whispered, standing on the tips of his pedes and kissing his leader delicately. He was instantly rewarded with the feeling of Megatron smiling against his lips, obviously he was happy with his seeker's suggestion.

He led Starscream from the room they were currently occupying to a door, barely having the patience to allow it to open before pulling the seeker inside and locking it. Also, for extra measures, he made sure to soundproof it as well.

Starscream smirked eagerly and took note of his surroundings.

The room was huge, having a desk situated at the left wall, numerous cabinets all around it, and more space then any one mech would ever need. There was a large berth in the right corner, beside of which was a small table littered with unread datapads, also there was a counter nearest to them that had its own personalized high-grade dispenser. A door was situated between the berth and Megatron's personal bar that could only lead to the washracks, which of course Starscream would make full use of after they were done with their…truce. However, despite all of the luxuries surrounding him at the moment, what mostly caught his attention was the window that took up the entire wall at the back of the room.

The ocean outside cast an eerie but breathtaking blue throughout the room, and the wavy pattern of the moving water outside was painted across all of the walls, causing a feeling of serenity. Only occasionally a school of fish would pass by and mar deep shadows, pitching the room in darkness, but even that unworldly interruption was beautiful.

Starscream was interrupted from his staring as Megatron came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Enjoying the view Starscream?" He asked distractedly.

The seeker nodded, continuing to look at the ocean outside with fascination.

Megatron smirked and whispered into his second's audio, "I'm enjoying the view as well…"

When Starscream took the time to look up at his leader he found that he was staring at him instead of the window, which was mildly surprising, but sweet nonetheless.

Ignoring the compliment, he decided to move things along. "I'm a bit disappointed that you've never invited me here before, but I suppose we can make up for lost time." The smile that graced his lips was truly unforgettable. Blue hands quickly undid Megatron's grip around the seeker's waist, leaving the larger mech to watch as Starscream sauntered over to his berth.

With a pleased smirk the young flier crawled onto the large bed and stretched, wings fanning in an enticing display as ruby red hips swayed invitingly.

"You certainly have a large berth Lord Megatron, surely you wouldn't mind sharing it with simple little me…" dark pouty lips turned into an upwards smirk as Starscream peered over his shoulder to stare lustfully into his leader's optics.

The look, of course, was reciprocated.

Megatron laughed haughtily and walked to the berth with purpose, looking down at the seeker with predatory glee. "I'm sure there's more than enough room for the both of us, Starscream." He told the seeker, who's expression lit up with absolute excitement. Starscream shifted to stretch out languorously on his back, smiling up at his leader and outstretching his arms welcomingly. Megatron was not a mech known for great hesitation, he joined his seeker on the berth and allowed the small flier to wrap his arms around his neck, indulging him in a subtle kiss.

Almost instantly, Starscream deepened the kiss, turning it from the subtle, romantic display of affection that it was, into a vicious fight to speed things up.

Megatron stopped his attentions with a smile, "A bit eager now, aren't we Starscream?" He asked, watching the tenacious look that appeared on his second's face as coherent thought returned to him.

"Well, if you were about to get your processor fragged out by the most powerful mech in the universe then wouldn't you want to hurry things along too?" Starscream inquired a bit acidly as he squirmed under his leader. Megatron laughed and simply continued to subject his seeker to an absence of pleasure. "I suppose." He agreed.

Starscream frowned when Megatron ceased his attention, the warlord was merely looking at him, a smug smile glued to his faceplates in slight humor.

"Oh come on! What are you waiting for?" He asked hurriedly, wrapping one of his legs around Megatron's waist and pulling the gladiator closer to him.

Megatron smirked and nipped at Starscream's throat carefully, "Are you sure you want to go through with this, after all, you _were _almost raped Starscream, and I'm not exactly known for being gentle when interfacing."

Starscream scoffed and moved his hips against his leader's, "Oh please, Prime didn't even get what he wanted, and I've been through much, much worse!" He informed him, "Though I'll admit, I am a bit more…sensitive, than others."

Of course, he wouldn't tell him all the details, he was much more sensitive to pain than was normal, but he was also much, much, much more sensitive to pleasure as well. The overwhelming pleasure of interfacing was what always made him so excited and eager for it, Skywarp had accused him of being a nymphomaniac many times for that very reason. However, there had been plenty of times when the pain had become unbearable, but not since he was very young. With the help of his wingmates he had not had a painful experience in a very long time.

Hopefully this would be no different.

"I'm perfectly capable of handling rough interfacing, now, if you wouldn't mind I would really like it if you would just fuck me already!" The seeker hissed, grinding his hips against his leader's fervently.

Megatron had to admit that he was aroused to the point of nearly losing his mind, but he wasn't going to oblige the seeker just yet. He may not be the most patient mech in the world, however, if it meant savoring the time he was going to have with Starscream then he would make an exception.

He kissed the small flier swiftly, giving him just enough time to return the kiss before moving his attention to his neck, placing small, lustful bites on the sensitive cables and wiring there. Starscream moaned quietly beneath him, squirming at the wonderful feeling.

"Mmn, I never knew you were into foreplay, Megatron." He said softly, tilting his head back in order to give his leader more room. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that his leader was actually capable of such things, at least not with him, there had been so much hate between them that everything that was happening seemed to be surreal.

Megatron made Starscream release the leg he had around his waist so that he could move lower, kissing the sensitive glass of his canopy, his abdomen, and then even lower.

The warlord pushed his seeker's legs apart, hands holding the smooth white thighs firmly. "I hope you won't mind begging Starscream, despite the fact that you're mine now doesn't mean I don't enjoy seeing you writhe, in agony _or _pleasure…" The smirk on his face told Starscream that his leader was planning something, but what, he didn't know.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" He asked, voice hitching in uncertainty as Megatron began petting his interface panel. There was no way that Megatron was going to hurt him, right? After he already started to trust him…but then again, he should have known better than to just brush the fact that Megatron was still his enemy aside in favor of some pitiful chance that things had changed. Maybe he had been wrong about this all along, perhaps Megatron didn't care at all. With a mistrustful look the seeker glanced up at his leader, "What are you going to do to me?"

"You'll see my love, just relax." Megatron laughed softly, cutting the seeker from saying anything else, it appeared that he was eager to start the task he had in mind, and without any further delay he looked lustfully towards Starscream, "Open." He commanded.

Though a bit unsure of the situation, Starscream didn't disobey, he quickly retracted his interface panel for the larger mech, not wanting to anger or provoke him. If there was one thing scarier than Megatron when he was angry, it was Megatron when he was intimate. He was much more calm than Starscream had predicted he would be, and, having never really been around Megatron when he was calm, the flier was unsure of exactly what his leader was going to do. He could either hurt him, as he said earlier he wasn't known for being gentle, or he could actually be aiming to

All thoughts vanished from the seeker's mind as a smooth glossa entered his port, gliding around the rim lazily.

"Nnh! M-Megatron!" Starscream moaned in surprise, instantly tensing up and grabbing the berth's surface in surprise. He had interfaced with his wingmates many times and the foreplay had always been pleasurable, but never like this, they seldom took the time to make foreplay last very long before getting to the main event.

Megatron thrust his glossa further into Starscream's port, listening to his second's rapturous cries at the pleasurable attention. The smooth walls were wet and silky, relaying to the Decepticon commander exactly how aroused his seeker was. After a moment or two of savoring the unique taste of the flier, which was strangely close to vanilla, he withdrew and looked at Starscream.

The seeker's face was the very picture of blissful abandon, his lips were parted and his breathing was slightly erratic, his optics dimmed to a calming pink. He was beautiful.

Megatron leaned up, kissing Starscream passionately and allowing the seeker to taste himself, which only served to arouse him further.

The younger mech wrapped his arms around his leader's neck and pulled him closer, kissing him furiously and moving his hips softly, he was more than eager to get things started on a much more intimate level. It was very clear that he was wanting to move straight to interfacing, even if the foreplay was pleasurable enough it still didn't amount to enough to satisfy him.

Of course, Megatron saw no problem with this, he was doing everything in his power not to simply frag his seeker senseless, and since he had held back for this long he saw no point in not finishing out with teasing his seeker just a little more.

Pulling away from the insatiable young mech he smiled down at him, optics glowing a deep crimson. Starscream couldn't help but smile too, breathless and delirious as he stared up at his leader with infatuation.

Megatron moved his hand to Starscream's exposed port, feeling the warmth and inviting wetness between the seeker's legs.

Without making the smaller mech wait he pressed his index finger into the opening and watched as Starscream's face contorted into a mask of pure pleasure. He instinctively opened his legs wider, allowing his leader limitless access.

The walls of his port tightened around Megatron's finger, a sign that Starscream was already close to overload. It astounded the warlord at how fast seekers were able to reach their climax, no normal mech would even be close to overload simply from being fingered. However, despite the wondrous sounds the flier was making and the fact that he was probably mere minutes away from release, it was something else that really caught Megatron's attention. When he entered a second finger it was instantly noticeable that Starscream was going to be a tight fit. He could barely squeeze both digits in at one time, even with the help of the aromatic lubricant that Starscream produced. He had heard rumors of how small seekers were, and seeing as how he was "gifted" as far as size went, he didn't exactly see how interfacing would be pleasant for Starscream. Hell, there was a chance that he wouldn't be able to fit in the first place, let alone not get stuck even if by some miracle he did.

He gently pulled his fingers out, listening to his seeker moan in abandon before entering once more. He set a slow pace, moving his digits in and out rhythmically and watching as the young mech beneath him writhed in overwhelming pleasure.

Starscream was still moving his hips softly, grinding and pushing Megatron deeper each time, trying desperately to advance himself toward overload.

His port was clenching around his leader's fingers rapidly, producing even more lubricant and encouraging Megatron to try and fit a third finger in. If he was even going to attempt interfacing with Starscream then he was going to have to stretch him a little, even if it caused the seeker some…discomfort.

With a slightly frustrated sigh he carefully began to push a third digit into Starscream's small port.

There was an immediate reaction.

Starscream gasped and gritted his teeth abruptly, optics snapping open in a flash of bright ruby light. He stared at Megatron with an indistinguishable expression on his face. Whether he was in pain or simply couldn't comprehend something was completely unknown to the tyrant.

Megatron paused, looking at his lover with a worried countenance.

Starscream simply exhaled slowly, as if bracing himself for something, much like a youngling prepared themselves for a shot at the doctor's office.

He grabbed Megatron's wrist and slowly, steadily, began to push all three digits in. At first they wouldn't fit at all and Starscream hissed in pain, choosing not to try and advance his leader's fingers any further. He held Megatron's wrist in place, assuring that he wouldn't move, and he quickly pushed his hips down. His port stretched to accommodate all three digits at once, lubricant dripping down onto the berth in rivulets.

Megatron kept his hand still, not daring to move his fingers until he knew that Starscream would be able handle it. Despite the seeker's apparent high-pain tolerance he didn't want to take a chance on damaging him.

The young flier was panting heavily, staring at the ceiling for distraction. He wasn't used to such…insertive foreplay, normally the only time that he had to struggle to fit something it was his partner's spike, he had never imagined that he would have to put so much effort into simply getting _fingers _into his port. That raised a question, if Megatron's fingers were big enough to cause so much pleasure and pain…then how big was his spike?

Starscream groaned quietly, he had been so aroused that he had failed to think this through. He knew how big Skywarp and TC were, and they had been a struggle before he got used to them. He had interfaced with Skyfire numerous times and he was _huge_. If Megatron was anywhere near his size then there would definitely be some pain involved, but the pain would pass and it would be _so _worth it.

Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all, even if it was rather spur of the moment.

The seeker nodded for Megatron to continue, a small frown set on his features as he spread his legs as far as he could.

The Decepticon commander didn't waste any time, the sooner he broke Starscream in the sooner they could interface.

He slowly moved his fingers back, never fully exiting Starscream's port in case it took as much effort as last time to re-enter. Starscream moaned sensually, half in pleasure and half in pain, Megatron's digits reached key sensors inside him, making it increasingly hard to think.

The larger mech moved his fingers forward again, pushing a little further than before, he then drew back, pushed forward, drew back…

By the time he set up a rhythm Starscream was writhing beneath him, his hips jerking in ecstasy. It was clear that he was overheating by the faint violet color of his cheeks and the impressive number of different moans and whimpers he was emitting. The soft, encouraging flicks of the seeker's wings were a sign to his now non-existent self control, and the subtle arch of his back had Megatron staring. He had never seen such a beautiful display of pure eroticism as Starscream. The young mech's lithe body moved so perfectly with each thrust of Megatron's digits, his squirming and seductive little sighs were enough to drive anyone crazy. His hips moved forward and dug his leader's fingers in deeper, causing him to cry out in ecstasy and grip the berth fervently. After that he was reduced to panting and moaning once more.

His ruby optics were flickering with the intensity of the pleasure in his port, his thoughts reduced to nothing but the sound of his own moans and cries.

Megatron smirked, seeing that his second was now completely undone and capitalizing on the opportunity. Spreading his fingers inside of his seeker he drug them along the tight walls of his port slowly, purposefully, hitting every sensor and driving the flier over the edge.

Immediately Starscream lived up to his name, crying out in blissful abandon as overload hit him hard and fast. He arched off of the berth and into his leader like a wild cat, crushing their lips together hard enough to bruise them and kissing the older mech with all the passion he had.

The warlord pulled him closer, deepening the kiss brutally and forcing Starscream to submit. He had never seen Starscream lose control like this, the raw, untouched fire that had been hidden just beneath the surface was now showing, turning the seeker into an unadulterated scene of pure sexual perfection.

He squirmed beneath his leader, hips pushing up and begging. His optics locked with Megatron's, a childish pleading look boring into him furiously, but the tyrant ignored it, smiling cruelly, "Now, now Starscream, have patience. I'll give you what you want in due time." He told the seeker darkly. Scarlet optics widened in disbelief before suddenly they narrowed into slits of angry hellfire.

Faster then Megatron could react, the tables turned.

Starscream pushed his leader off of him and onto his back, trailing fierce kisses and nips down to his codpiece, fingers digging into plating and caressing the wires there.

Almost instinctually the seeker instantly headed for his leader's interface panel, forcing it open to reveal Megatron's fully erect length.

He eyed the huge member lustfully before glancing up to lock optics with his lover, Megatron looked slightly baffled at how quickly Starscream had recovered from overload, it was almost like he hadn't been affected by it all. And now he was suddenly taking control of the situation as if he was a feral animal.

Starscream broke optic contact quickly, returning his gaze back to his commander's spike. With an erotic smirk the young flier trailed the tips of his fingers lightly along Megatron's entire length, ignoring his leader's pleased growl. "I think I'll take what I want _now_, glorious leader." He purred sensually.

After briefly mapping out the main sensors Starscream gripped the base of his lover's huge spike, squeezing the thick member and causing Megatron to moan lowly. He leaned down, glancing up at his leader once more to give him a teasing look before wrapping his lips around the tip of his spike.

Megatron growled and gritted his teeth to prevent moaning again, leaning up on his elbows, watching his seeker intently.

Starscream moved his glossa against the tip slowly, putting an agonizing amount of attention into his task. His glossa worked wonders, not neglecting a single inch as he rubbed his leader's thick tip professionally. Megatron couldn't hold back the moan that escaped his lips then, his thoughts were swimming around in static and his fingers were numb from gripping the berth so hard. Starscream's gentle caressing turned more fervent, his glossa moving to fit more of the huge spike into his mouth, he moved lower, swallowing his leader's member almost to the hilt.

Once he had the majority of Megatron's spike in his mouth he began to rub his glossa all along the shaft, torturously dragging the pleasure on and on until the warlord felt that his processor would explode. He betrayed nothing in his expression, the only indications that he was losing control were the brightening of his optics and the steady pressure that he was putting into gritting his teeth. His spike was throbbing, vorns of pent up energy aching to be released. His second's skilled tongue was threatening to force him into overload, brushing at every sensor along his length with purpose, as if this were the most important thing in the universe to him. He made small seductive noises as he pleasured his leader, wings flitting out every now and then to distract the larger mech so that he could tighten his mouth around his spike and cause him to groan at the unexpected stimulation.

Ever crafty, Starscream smiled around the member in his mouth, knowing that he was driving his leader crazy. He forced more of Megatron's spike into his throat, and without allowing his leader even a moment to regain his thoughts he began sucking.

Megatron moaned darkly at that, his hips thrusting forward into Starscream's mouth instinctively. The seeker paid it no attention, his sole focus was on the hot spike in his mouth. He worked meticulously, throat and glossa syncing into the same rhythm as he bobbed his head back and forth.

The Decepticon commander grabbed the back of Starscream's helm and forced him to suck harder, growling in frustration as he felt overload trying to take him. He was stronger than that though, he wouldn't let something as simple as a blowjob push him over the edge so quickly.

Starscream knew this, he was more than aware that Megatron would try to hold back until they actually interfaced but damned if he wouldn't at least try his best to drive him closer and closer to the edge. He pressed his glossa against the underside of his leader's shaft and tightened the cables in his throat for a long, pressured suck that sent Megatron's senses reeling.

The warlord's back arched almost painfully and he thrust into Starscream's mouth roughly, his spike pushing deeper into the seeker's throat.

Starscream had to fight to keep from gagging at the violent intrusion, but kept his composure and simply continued his long, slow, tantalizing sucking. He knew that sooner or later his leader would be forced to let go.

However, when he moaned against his commander's huge member, sending vibrations all along his length, Megatron forced him to cease his attentions.

He growled and pushed Starscream's helm slightly, causing the seeker to stop rather abruptly.

Starscream lifted his head, letting the warm member slide from his mouth in slight confusion. Knowing what was coming he was sure to leave the tyrant's spike nice and wet.

"Enough. If I'm going to overload then I'm going to be sure to do so while ravaging you, not while letting you simply play your little games at my expense."

The young mech's cheeks were flushed and he was smiling excitedly, moving forward to kiss his leader intensely.

Megatron deepened the kiss quickly, pulling his seeker flush against him and into a crushing embrace. Starscream whimpered sweetly, his glossa rubbing suggestively at his leader's and his wings perking up high on his back.

The Decepticon commander broke the kiss and grabbed Starscream's hips, holding them straight as the flier sat up, hovering just above his lover's spike.

Megatron looked to his second with an anticipatory expression, "Are you sure you can handle this?" He panted, keeping the seeker from proceeding. Starscream smirked lustfully, "Of course I can handle it, if it starts hurting too much then we'll just use a safe word or something."

"Like what?" Megatron asked.

Starscream was far too gone to think too hard on it, "Banana, now can we _please _keep going!"

Megatron smirked and squeezed Starscream's hips fondly, "We most certainly can." He purred.

Starscream smiled in anticipation and slowly sank down onto his leader's hard spike, gasping abruptly as the tip penetrated his tight port.

He whimpered quietly and continued to slide down until every inch of his commander's warm throbbing member was inside him, stretching his port to the limit.

The seeker was forced to stay still once more, gasping in intense pleasure as he let himself adjust to the huge spike impaling him. His walls tensed around it, the tightness having the same pleasurable affect on Megatron.

When everything adjusted he began to go back up his leader's impressive length, moaning wantonly as every sensor in his port came alive with intense fire. Megatron was so _big_, he didn't miss a single spot inside him, every inch filling him with the warm throbbing pleasure that he had been craving.

He had barely reached the tip once more when Megatron took hold of his hips again, holding him in place effortlessly and guiding him back down. The thick shaft rubbed against the impossibly smooth metal of his port and forced him into complete submission. The heat of interfacing was all that he wanted, the act of being taken by his leader swarming his conscious thoughts and pushing him into sympathic motion.

He moved up and down slowly, not taking a single moment for granted, the giant spike within him going deeper each time. His aromatic lubricant dripped from his port to the juncture of his thigh and fell down his leg in rivulets onto his lover's groin, covering the ebony armor in a vanilla-scented puddle. The lubricant eased his movements more and before long he was nearly bouncing on his leader's lap, moaning loudly as pleasure consumed him.

He set up a pace so fast that Megatron almost overloaded incidentally, forgetting that he had to make Starscream overload first. Of course, with the seeker moving so quickly that wasn't very likely to happen. It was time for him to take control of the situation.

The warlord grabbed Starscream's delicate red hips and forced them still, lining himself up once more and canting into the smaller mech ferociously.

Starscream howled, port clenching tightly around the huge member as he bucked and whined.

Megatron moved his hips upward viciously, taking Starscream hard, and the seeker loved it.

Cherry hips moved in perfect rhythm with his leader's and Starscream quickly felt all of his self-control dissolving away.

He grinded shamelessly, head thrown back in rapture as his lover pounded into him with such ferocity that it seemed he would fall apart. His port squeezed the invading spike tightly and at random intervals, and Starscream twisted his hips slightly, maximizing the pleasure to both him and his leader.

The delicious wetness of his port allowed Megatron to move faster, harder, drawing screams of ecstasy from the writhing seeker above him.

Starscream cried out in abandon, forcing himself down onto his lover's length violently.

"Ohhh yyeessss! My leader, my master _please_! More!" He screamed, rutting into Megatron's thrusts frantically.

Megatron didn't deny him in the least, he switched their positions in the blink of an eye, forcing the seeker onto his back as he pounded into him with brute force. He pushed his hips forward with as much intensity as he possibly could, stretching the young flier's small port until it bled.

Starscream shrieked in a mixture of pleasure and pain, arching agonizingly into his leader's form. He was helpless to fight the sick desire for more of the brutal attention, he wanted to be ravaged, he wanted to be taken by his leader, he _needed _it.

"Mnn, M-Megatron! Primus it feels…so _good_, please oh Primus please go harder!" He whined, long white legs wrapping around Megatron's waste and drawing him closer.

The Decepticon leader leaned down, biting into Starscream's neck to prevent himself from moaning as he nailed the seeker harder, his huge spike slipping in and out of the smaller mech effortlessly.

Starscream was reduced to a crying, moaning mess as he ecstatically took every inch of his commander's length, his oversensitive port sending waves of pure euphoria through him as it clamped down around the intruding spike.

He could feel himself coming to a second overload, more powerful then any he had experienced. His thighs tensed and he cried out in longing, clinging to Megatron as if he was the only thing keeping him in reality. "Faster! Go _faster_!" He pleaded, hips jerking uncontrollably as he started loosing control of his body.

Megatron, once again, heeded his second's request, driving himself forward with every bit of power that he had in him, ramming his spike in and out of the young seeker blindingly.

Starscream wailed in ecstasy, every fiber of his being unthreading and drifting away as fireworks exploded in his mind. Everything flashed white and his entire body arched into that of his lover's. Their lips met and the sound of Starscream's second overload was muffled, the seeker's trembling body and steadily jerking hips were the only sign that he had even overloaded in the first place.

Megatron was still moving inside him, still thrusting and adding to the small jolt of Starscream's delicate hips. The seeker's port tightened almost unbelievably around his spike, sending the final waves of pleasure through Megatron's length before the warlord also overloaded, roaring as he released into his second.

Starscream whimpered as the thick stream of warm lubricant flooded into his port, keeping the already oversensitive sensors there alive with post-interface heat.

When his overload finally came to an end Megatron pulled out carefully, trying not to either hurt or arouse Starscream again, and collapsed onto his berth beside the seeker, panting heavily. He had not had such a powerful overload in a long, long time, and he couldn't recall anyone who brought him as much pleasure as Starscream.

After a moment of waiting for the feeling to come back to his limbs he pulled his lover close, kissing his helm possessively. The smaller mech was still panting, his shallow breathing not slowing down at all as he curled into his leader's frame. His hips were still spasming, softly moving as if he were still interfacing.

Megatron smiled, the seeker's overload was so powerful that he still hadn't recovered from it in the least, contrary to his first overload which he had gotten over almost immediately. The pretty violet of his cheeks and the wet tears streaking his face accented how beautiful he was, his optics were dimmed back to the serene pink from earlier. The warlord kissed his helm once more, if this was how he looked after every time he overloaded then they would definitely have to interface more often.

After nearly twenty minutes of simply laying and staring at one another they finally regained their breath, the sound of internal cooling fans suddenly kicking off and returning to their normal cycling.

Starscream curled up further against his leader, sighing in contentment, "That was amazing…" He whispered, optics drifting shut slowly.

Megatron smiled and wrapped his arms around the seeker, "Yes, yes it was." He agreed, "much more satisfying than arguing or fighting…"

The young flier laughed tiredly, "Yeah, more satisfying than being coveted by Optimus Prime too." He nuzzled his leader's neck lovingly and pressed into him, reveling in the wonderful feeling of being so close to him.

The Decepticon commander frowned, but only for a moment before he quickly regained the calm state of mind he had been in, his good mood returning to him instantly.

"I'm not sure it will be more satisfying than watching me rip him apart, but that will be up to you to decide, now won't it?"

The question was practically dripping with intent, and Starscream picked up on it immediately, smiling against his commander's throat. "That would be most satisfying indeed." He purred.

Megatron smiled and kissed Starscream's helm once more, stroking his seeker's back affectionately. "I promise you Starscream, you'll never know another moment of pain or fear or sadness as long you're mine, we've waited long enough to end this charade, you've been through enough."

"It was worth it." The seeker whispered.

Megatron held his lover even closer, his countenance slightly unsure as he thought something over. "I think I've finally come to terms with something," he paused for a moment, "I love you, Starscream, more than I really understand, and the fact that it's taken me this long to realize it only makes me feel like a fool…I hurt you out of frustration because I didn't know why I felt this way toward you, but when you were gone, I finally came to my senses. Can you ever forgive me?" The question was laden with sentiment, noticeable in the warlord's voice. He spoke softly, lips brushing Starscream's helm as he did.

The seeker was silent for a moment, contemplating something. After his mind was made he sat up, looking down into his leader's optics with passion in his own. "I forgave you eons ago," he said quietly, "I've _always _loved you…for so, so long."

He leaned down, kissing Megatron softly, "Always …"

The Decepticon commander smiled and kissed his seeker back, "And exactly how much do you love me Starscream?" He asked.

Starscream simply smiled as well, "Hm, as the humans would say, I love you with a capital L, which I guess translates into a lot." He leaned in to steal another kiss, allowing Megatron to pull him back down to lay beside him.

"Love with a capital L sounds perfectly fine to me."

Okay, so I know this took forrrrreeevvveeerrrr, and I'm really, really, really sorry! But between school, cleaning, and my boyfriend I have no time for my beloved fics. But It's okay! I made time!

I love writing robot Pr0n! And I know that the ending was cheesy but oh well! It was like 2:00 in the morning and I was all hopped up on coffee and those retarded romance movies that come on the late night channels!

Anyways yeah, I have no internet right now, I've been going to McDonald's and having to shell out $3.00 for a frappe just to use their wifi =(

But once again, it's perfectly fine! I don't mind, because hopefully soon I'll be getting wireless internet!

So, this is finally the end of this fic! Thank God! I was getting so bored with it so if it sort of started sucking then I'm sorry, I really lost interest. That tends to happen a lot.

!Anyways, I've also started a new fic! It's not supposed to be related to this one at all but it is an MxSS, because they're my fav. pairing and because the idea just popped into my head one day in my 3rd period class! If you want to go check it out I have the first chapter uploaded already! Please let me know what you think!


End file.
